HM Treasury

Treasury: iNHouse Communications

Melanie Onn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has awarded any commercial contracts to iNHouse Communications Ltd in the last five years.

Simon Kirby: The Department has not awarded any commercial contracts to iNHouse Communications Limited in the last five years.

Treasury: iNHouse Communications

Melanie Onn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department is in communication with iNHouse Communications Ltd in relation to any ongoing commercial tender process.

Simon Kirby: The Department is not engaged with iNHouse Communications Ltd in relation to any ongoing commercial tender exercise.

Treasury: Equality

Paula Sherriff: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, who the diversity champion is on his departmental board.

Simon Kirby: HM Treasury has two board level diversity champions, (i) Treasury’s Chief Economic Adviser and (ii) Treasury’s Director of Personal Tax, Welfare and Pensions Group.

Mortgages

Steve McCabe: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of Financial Conduct Authority requirements for mortgage affordability assessments on the ability of home owners to re-mortgage or switch mortgage provider.

Steve McCabe: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps the Government is taking to assist home owners who seek to re-mortgage but who, following the Mortgage Market Review, no longer meet Financial Conduct Authority requirements on mortgage affordability assessments.

Simon Kirby: The Government is committed to increasing competition in banking and creating an environment in which firms compete to offer a range of products that suit the varying needs of their customers. Both existing and prospective mortgage borrowers may benefit from shopping around to find the best deal available to them. The Government has not undertaken a formal assessment of the effects that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Rules on mortgage affordability assessments have had on the ability of borrowers to switch providers. Although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services, specific rules are a matter for the FCA whose day-to-day operations are independent from government control and influence. In May 2016 the FCA published a review which assessed the impact of recent changes to the regulation of mortgage lending. Where lending is affordable, the FCA did not see evidence that the responsible lending rules have prevented creditworthy consumers obtaining loans. The full review can be found here: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/thematic-reviews/tr16-04.pdf

Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Tom Elliott: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations he has received from the Northern Ireland Executive on the merits of introducing a windfall tax on profits from the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme in Northern Ireland.

Mr David Gauke: The Treasury has received no such representations.

Community Amateur Sports Clubs Scheme

Justin Tomlinson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the changes to the community amateur sports club scheme on the number of clubs registered in that scheme since 2015.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs is continuing to implement the changes to the Community Amateur Sports Club scheme and will review the impact as part of its normal processes.

Concentrix

Rob Marris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether (a) targets and (b) financial rewards formed part of HM Revenue and Customs' contract with Concentrix for its processing of claims for tax credits.

Jane Ellison: The construct of the contract between HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and Concentrix has been published, and is available at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/85d1b730-5e4e-4be8-ae[emailprotected]/*  */!function(t,e,r,n,c,a,p){try{t=document.currentScript||function(){for(t=document.getElementsByTagName('script'),e=t.length;e--;)if(t[e].getAttribute('data-cfhash'))return t[e]}();if(t&&(c=t.previousSibling)){p=t.parentNode;if(a=c.getAttribute('data-cfemail')){for(e='',r='0x'+a.substr(0,2)|0,n=2;a.length-n;n+=2)e+='%'+('0'+('0x'+a.substr(n,2)^r).toString(16)).slice(-2);p.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(decodeURIComponent(e)),c)}p.removeChild(t)}}catch(u){}}()/*  */=NjJNT08=UF The contract was predicated on Concentrix undertaking interventions with regard to potential error and fraud in relation to the tax credits system. With regard to targets, the contract provided for specific activity to be completed by Concentrix in undertaking error and fraud intervention activity. The contract also provided for specific targets in terms of dedicated quality, key and standard performance indicators which were connected, where appropriate, to a performance management regime (for example, with payment to Concentrix being reduced accordingly should pre-agreed levels of performance not be met). With regard to financial rewards, payment to Concentrix was based on an established commission rate and linked to gross losses prevented by them in undertaking dedicated error and fraud intervention activity.

Welfare Tax Credits

Rob Marris: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which organisation will run the compliance process for tax credits for (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20.

Jane Ellison: HM Revenue and Customs will run and deliver the entire compliance process for tax credits.

Revenue and Customs: Correspondence

Alan Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to require return mail addresses to be provided on HM Revenue and Customs tax correspondence.

Jane Ellison: All HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) correspondence should already be sent in envelopes that have a return address printed on the envelope, and HMRC would be happy to investigate specific circumstances where this is not the case.

Sanitary Products: VAT

Will Quince: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which charities successfully bid for money from the Tampon Tax Fund; and how much money each such charity received.

Mr David Gauke: In total, 25 charities have been allocated funding so far. This includes funding allocated to Comic Relief and Rosa to disburse funding over the coming year to a range of grassroots women’s organisations across the UK, in recognition of the high number of applications received.The list of charities and funding announced at the Autumn Statement 2015 can be found in the Autumn Statement publication available here (section 6.4): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-and-autumn-statement-2015-documents/spending-review-and-autumn-statement-2015The list of charities and funding announced at Budget 2016 can be found in the Budget publication available here (section 7.6): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2016-documents/budget-2016 Finally, the list of charities and funding announced at Autumn Statement 2016 can be found in the Autumn Statement publication available here (section 6.3): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/autumn-statement-2016-documents/autumn-statement-2016

Credit Unions

Sir David Crausby: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how the Government plans to improve and promote access to credit unions.

Simon Kirby: The Government’s manifesto commits to support the credit union movement in making financial services more accessible over the course of this Parliament. The Government has supported the sector in the following ways: Investing up to £38 million in an expansion project for credit unions, aimed at helping credit unions expand and grow sustainably.The Government announced at AS16 that a greater proportion of funds recovered from illegal money lenders will be allocated to incentivise vulnerable people to join, save and borrow with a credit union instead of turning to loan sharks.The Coalition Government also increased the maximum interest rate that credit unions can charge on loans from 2% to 3%. This has helped credit unions become more stable. The Government will continue to look at ways it can help support the sector.

Mobile Phones: Radio Frequencies

David Mackintosh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) value of unused mobile spectrum and (b) benefits to the economy of bringing that unused spectrum into use through introducing a 30 per cent cap on mobile spectrum holdings.

Mr David Gauke: The independent communications regulator, Ofcom, is responsible for designing the framework for spectrum allocations. Ofcom has published its most recent assessment of the most effective allocation of mobile spectrum, including consideration of spectrum caps, as part of its consultation on the design of the forthcoming mobile spectrum auction. The relevant documents can be found using the following link: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-1/award-of-the-spectrum-bands.

Department for Work and Pensions

Department for Work and Pensions: Credit Unions

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department permits its employees to join a credit union through payroll deductions; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: On 6th July 2016 DWP launched a payroll savings scheme to allow staff to access financial services delivered by three partner credit unions - Commsave, Hull and East Yorkshire, and Voyager Alliance - directly through payroll. This initiative formed part of DWP’s “Working Well Together” wellbeing programme. Early indications are that the scheme has been very well received and so far over 2,100 DWP staff have signed up as credit union members through payroll.

Construction: Employment

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of trends in employment in the construction sector over the next five years.

Damian Hinds: The Office for Budget Responsibility produces the official economic forecasts for HM Government.

Jobseeker's Allowance: Scotland

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants in Scotland were covered by the jobseeker's allowance sanctions early warning trial between March and September 2016; and what plans he has to extend that trial across the UK.

Damian Hinds: The Jobseeker’s Allowance Sanctions Early Warning Trial in Scotland ran until September 2016 and involved approximately 6,500 claimants. Data were collected throughout the trial period to assess the extent to which the warning trial affected sanction decisions. Qualitative interviews are currently being undertaken with a sample of these claimants to gain an understanding of how the new process affected claimant behaviour. The trial has now finished and a full evaluation is being undertaken. An interim report was published on 20 December 2016 and the final report will be published around Spring 2017. Findings from the trial will inform any decisions on future roll-out. The link to the interim report is posted below: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?keywords=&publication_filter_option=research-and-analysis&topics%5B%5D=all&departments%5B%5D=department-for-work-pensions&official_document_status=all&world_locations%5B%5D=all&from_date=&to_date=&commit=Refresh+results

Carer's Allowance

Mr Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans the Government has to reform the earnings limit applied to the carer's allowance.

Penny Mordaunt: I would refer my Hon Friend to PQ55481, my previous answer to this question given on 2 December 2016.

Personal Independence Payment

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people not previously in receipt of higher-level disability living allowance were awarded the mobility element of personal independence payments by (a) quarter and (b) region in 2016.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people previously in receipt of higher-level disability living allowance were awarded the mobility element of personal independence payments by (a) quarter and (b) region in 2016.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people previously in receipt of higher-level disability living allowance were not awarded the mobility element of personal independence payment by (a) quarter and (b) region in 2016.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people previously in receipt of higher-level disability living allowance who were not initially awarded the mobility element of personal independence payment were awarded it at review or on appeal by (a) quarter and (b) region in 2016.

Penny Mordaunt: Disability Living Allowance (DLA) has two components: care and mobility. The care component has three payment rates and the mobility component two. There are therefore eleven payment rates in total. It is not clear to what ‘higher-level disability living allowance’ refers. Various statistics on DLA to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) reassessment outcomes are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-april-2013-to-october-2016

Flexible Support Fund

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much and what proportion of the Flexible Support Fund was unspent in 2015-16; and how much of the 2016-17 allocation has been spent to date.

Damian Hinds: The budget allocated for Flexible Support Fund (FSF) in 15/16 was £69.5 million. Spend was £61.5 million, leaving an underspend of £8.4 million. The budget allocated for Flexible Support Fund (FSF) in 16/17 is £50 million. Spend was £31.5 million up to the end of November 2016.

Jobcentres: Closures

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department plans to carry out impact assessments in the areas where jobcentre closures are proposed.

Damian Hinds: We will be undertaking an equality analysis as part of the detailed planning for service reconfiguration. This will include feedback from public consultation in those locations where this applies. A decision regarding publication of the equality analysis will be made at that time

Jobcentres: Change of Use

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many jobcentre offices in the UK are subject to live planning applications that would change the use of those premises.

Damian Hinds: It is not known precisely how many Jobcentres are subject to planning applications across our entire estate at this time. This is because any party can make a planning application for a change of use for a building without the involvement of either the landlord or current tenants. DWP will identify this information as part of conveyancing activity on buildings it is planning to retain or acquire.

Work Programme

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent on companies that provide Work Programme services in each of the last three years.

Damian Hinds: The Department spent the following amounts on providers of the Work Programme. Year £million2013-14635.92014-15573.62015-16416.4

Work Programme

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what small business start-up grants are available to people on the Work Programme.

Damian Hinds: Although financial support under the New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) scheme is not available to Work Programme participants, Work Programme providers are free to support participants to set up a business. A core principle of the Work Programme is that providers are free to offer the interventions they feel are right for the individual, at the right time. This includes providing support and advice on self employment where it is the right option for the individual.

State Retirement Pensions: Uprating

Dr Tania Mathias: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason annual increases to state pensions are made with reference to the inflation figures from October of the previous year.

Richard Harrington: The Department uses prices and earnings indices published in October of the previous year to ensure that it has sufficient time to complete the legislative and operational changes required before new rates can be introduced at the start of the new financial year.

Self-employed: Pensions

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to improve access to pensions for self-employed people.

Richard Harrington: I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the written answer I provided to the member for Glasgow East on 21 November 2016 to PQ53995. Further to this, I announced the scope of the 2017 Review of automatic enrolment in a Ministerial Statement to the House on 12 December 2016. Among other matters, this review will consider how the growing group of self-employed people can be helped to save for their retirement.

Income Support: Glasgow

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants attending Bridgeton Jobcentre Plus are in receipt of income support.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants attending Bridgeton Jobcentre Plus are in receipt of employment and support allowance.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants attending Bridgeton Jobcentre Plus are in receipt of jobseeker's allowance.

Damian Hinds: This information requested is not available and would incur disproportionate cost to provide.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

Natalie McGarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect that additional travelling will have on individuals with mobility problems in the event that the Jobcentre Plus office closures in Glasgow go ahead.

Damian Hinds: We will be undertaking an equality analysis as part of the detailed planning for service reconfiguration. This will include feedback from public consultation in those locations where this applies. The equality analysis and public consultation will help establish any impacts that additional travel will have on customers and inform decisions about additional provision, such as Outreach services. Current guidance makes alternative provision for those with mobility problems if they have a mental or physical disability, which restricts their mobility..

Jobcentres: Glasgow

Natalie McGarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of local public transport networks on people's ability to access alternative jobcentres in the event that Jobcentre Plus office closures in Glasgow go ahead.

Damian Hinds: The department is committed to retaining an accessible Jobcentre network and continuing to serve customers in all areas of the country. Travel time by public transport is one of a number of factors that have informed our proposals for our future Jobcentre network. Where we propose to close a Jobcentre, customers will be advised on alternative Jobcentre locations, taking into account access to public transport. The equality analysis and public consultation will help establish people’s ability to access services from alternative Jobcentre locations.

Universal Credit: Glasgow

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants attending Bridgeton Jobcentre Plus are in receipt of universal credit.

Damian Hinds: The number of people with live Universal Credit claims at Bridgeton Jobcentre Plus office, as at November 2016, is 253 and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics.

Living Wage: Children and Young People

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what effect the recent reassessment of the national living wage has had on the eligibility of (a) an over 25-year old single person, (b) an over 25-year old couple, (c) a single person aged between 21 and 24, (d) a couple aged between 21 and 24, (e) a single person aged between 18 and 20, (f) a couple aged between 18 and 20, (g) a singe person under the age of 18 and (h) a couple under the ages of 18 to claim jobseeker's allowance for up to the quoted 16 hours.

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the reassessment of the national living wage on the eligibility to claim jobseeker's allowance to his Department's quoted up to 16 hours for (a) a single person aged over 25, (b) an old couple aged over 25, (c) a single person aged between 21 and 24, (d) a couple aged between 21 and 24, (e) a single person aged between 18 and 20, (f) a couple aged between 18 and 20, (g) a single person under the age of 18 and (h) a couple under the age of 18.

Damian Hinds: The national living wage was introduced by this government on 1st April 2016 at the rate of £7.20 per hour and is applicable to those aged 25 and over. The national minimum wage is for those aged 16 and over. The national living wage is due to increase in April 2017 to £7.50 per hour. The effect of a change in the level of the national living wage, on Jobseeker’s Allowance, will be to readjust the amount of benefit payable by the equivalent amount, after any appropriate disregards have been taken into account. The change due in April 2017 will have no effect on eligibility to Jobseeker’s Allowance.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to respond to the National Audit Office's report on Benefit Sanctions, published on 30 November 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Hinds: The Public Accounts Committee hearing into the NAO Value for Money Study into Benefit Sanctions was held 12/12/2016 following publication of the report on 30/11/2016. The Public Accounts Committee has not yet published their final report and recommendations. DWP will respond to this once it has been published.

Employment Schemes: Disability

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answers of 24 February 2014, Official Report, column 5W, what the expenditure for the Work Choice programme was in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Damian Hinds: Expenditure for the Work Choice Programme for the years requested was £117.8m for 2014-15, of which £87.5m was paid to suppliers and £30.3m grant-in-aid to Remploy, and £124.4m for 2015-16. We previously excluded the Remploy 2014-15 figure from Work Choice expenditure figures as they were then a public sector arm’s length body, funded by grant in aid rather than through a commercial contract. Since transferring to private ownership, Remploy was awarded a commercial Work Choice contract for which expenditure was £40.8m in 2015/16. This figure is included in the £124.4m of Work Choice spending for 2015-16.

Employment Schemes: Travellers

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will amend the Operational Guidance issued to local enterprise partnerships in September 2014 on the allocation of European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF), to indicate that ESIF and resources should be used to support greater access to adult education, skills training and the labour market for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller groups.

Damian Hinds: There are separate ESIF Operational Programmes in place for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF) in England and the emphasis for both programmes for the 2014-2020 programme is to ensure funds support local growth. Funds are allocated to Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) areas to increase impact of other local public and private investments, such as the Local Growth Fund. The ESF Operational Programme issued in September 2015, deliberately does not refer to the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community as a specific target group. ESF operates on a principle of equality and inclusion and it is not considered appropriate to set aside allocations for specific groups on the grounds of ethnic origin, religion, gender or disability. LEPs have put forward plans/approaches to deliver against the themes of the ESF Operational Programme. Members of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller community could benefit from support across the different priorities, and Investment Priority 1.4 in particular includes the facility to support marginalised individuals and people with complex barriers. Gypsy, Roma and Traveller groups have been encouraged to engage with LEPs with a view to ensuring they are included in local partnerships and have the opportunity to influence local calls and we are also in the process of writing to LEPs to encourage them to work closely with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller representatives.

Home Office

Asylum: Young People

Ms Diane Abbott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2016 to Question 52848, whether it was her Department's chief scientific adviser or the Government's Chief Scientific Adviser who expressed concerns about the scientific basis of the trial; and if she will place in the Library or otherwise publish copies of any correspondence outlining those concerns.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The opinion of the Home Office Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Bernard Silverman FRS, was sought on the subject of dental age determination and I have placed a copy of his report in the Library.

Asylum

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many claims for asylum were lodged and are still outstanding in (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each month since January 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry but the data required to answer the question is not recorded in a way that can be reported on accurately. Such an answer can only be provided at disproportionate cost. The government produces regular data on asylum as part of its Migration Statistics and the latest release can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/immigration-statistics-july-to-september-2016-data-tables

Terrorism: Motor Vehicles

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department intends to review security procedures in relation to terrorist attacks using vehicles following the attacks in Berlin on 19 December 2016.

Mr Ben Wallace: Similar to the reviews which took place after the Nice attacks, the police and the security and intelligence agencies have reviewed security measures in place to ensure that there are robust plans and procedures in place to ensure the safety and security of the public from terrorist threats following the Berlin attack. This is a routine activity for the police and intelligence agencies, which is undertaken on a regular basis.We continue to work with owners and operators of events and other crowded places sites to consider what more can be done to reduce vulnerabilities to vehicle attacks. We also regularly test our response to terrorist attacks, including learning the lessons from attacks like those we have seen recently in Germany and France, through national exercises which involve the Government, military, police, ambulance, fire and rescue service, and other agencies.In addition we keep our preparedness under constant review, and looked again at our response following the terrorist attacks in Paris last year, delivering an uplift in our specialist response capability, including a £144 million programme over the next five years to uplift our armed policing resource.

Terrorism: Motor Vehicles

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department reviewed security procedures in relation to terrorist attacks using vehicles following the attacks in Nice in July 2016.

Mr Ben Wallace: Following the Nice attack, the police and the security and intelligence agencies took steps to review our own security measures, to ensure that we had robust plans and procedures in place to ensure the safety and security of the public from terrorist threats.All police forces reviewed upcoming events taking place in their regions to ensure that security measures were appropriate and proportionate in light of events in Nice, and intelligence and threat reporting. These operational activities (often working together with partner agencies) routinely seek to mitigate threats, or implement regimes to protect, detect and deter such attacks.

Immigration

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many refunds have been issued to customers who paid for a same-day decision service from UK Visas and Immigration in respect of applications for leave to remain.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Home Office does not refund a fee if someone applies for same day consideration of an application if they do not meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules or other relevant legislation for that category, nor does the Home Office issue a refund where an application is withdrawn and resource costs have been incurred.However, the Home Office will refund the premium element of a same day consideration service fee if it cannot be considered due to circumstances beyond the customer’s control, for example: when Home Office IT systems are temporarily unavailable and the application cannot be considered on the same day.The Home Office does not separately record such transactions. To compile a single record of all same day consideration payment refunds would mean looking at each individual application and could not be done except at disproportionate cost.

Immigration

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in how many cases of application for same-day decisions on leave to remain a biometric residence permit has not been issued within seven working days.

Mr Robert Goodwill: I am sorry but the requested information is unavailable in the required format. Due to the volume of applications over the period for which data can be published, this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Motorcycles: Helmets

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2016 to Question 56963, what powers the police have to seize (a) off-road bikes and mopeds and (b) other vehicles on the grounds that the driver is not wearing a helmet.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2016 to Question 56963, on motorcycles, what guidance her Department provides to the police on the use of those powers.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2016 to Question 56963, whether the guidance her Department provides to police forces on the use of the powers outlined makes reference to whether the driver of the vehicle is wearing a helmet; and if she will make a statement.

Brandon Lewis: It is an offence under section 16 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 for a person to drive or ride on a motor cycle in contravention of the requirement to wear protective headgear.The police have the power under section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 to seize vehicles, including off-road bikes and mopeds. This can be as a result of driving a vehicle in a careless and inconsiderate manner or driving a vehicle other than on a road, contrary to the Road Traffic Act 1988, or using a vehicle in a manner causing, or likely to cause, alarm, distress or annoyance to members of the public.The Home Office has not issued any guidance on the use of powers under section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002. How the powers are used is an operational matter for the police.

Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether projected savings arising from the closure of Dungavel immigration removal centre and its replacement with a new short-term holding facility are dependent on receipt of a capital return from the sale of Dungavel House.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many detainees were held overnight in police cells as part of journeys to or from Dungavel immigration removal centre due to Dungavel's remoteness from an airport; on how many nights police cells were used; and what the cost was to the Home Office of those nights in each year from 2010.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The plans for the new short term holding facility near Glasgow airport are not dependent on a capital return from the sale of Dungavel House immigration removal centre.I am sorry but we do not hold the information requested on the use of police cells centrally and providing it would incur disproportionate cost.

Visas: Fees and Charges

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, by what date the fees for 2017-18 for (a) non-student visas, (b) work permit visas and (c) in-country visa extension applications will be announced.

Mr Robert Goodwill: We are in the process of finalising cross-Government approval for the 2017-18 fees for all UK visa and immigration services and, in line with Parliamentary requirements, will lay the new Regulations in Parliament at least 21 days before they come into force.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether his Department supports the closure of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will conduct a public inquiry into the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when he was first made aware of the overspend of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps he is taking to reduce the cost to the public purse as a result of the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme overspend.

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister of Northern Ireland on the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.

James Brokenshire: I have been engaging with Northern Ireland political leaders and others about the current political tensions to encourage resolution. The Renewable Heating Initiative scheme was, and remains an entirely devolved issue, and it is primarily the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly to take the necessary action to address the concerns that have been expressed about it, including on deciding the form of any investigation or inquiry into the scheme. The UK Government has a primary role in providing political stability in Northern Ireland and we will do all that we can to help the parties find a resolution. I would urge Northern Ireland’s political leaders to take the necessary steps to work together to find a way forward and I will continue to work with all parties and the Irish Government to that end. I stand ready to convene discussions to identify a way forward which all parties can agree to.

Department of Health

Breast Cancer: Drugs

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to raise awareness among clinical commissioning groups of their responsibilities related to the commissioning of bisphosphonates for the indication and prevention of secondary breast cancer.

Nicola Blackwood: The Manual for Prescribed Specialised Services 2016/17 describes which elements of specialised services are commissioned by NHS England and which by clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). For specialist cancer services, the Manual makes clear that CCGs are responsible for commissioning adjuvant drug treatments, for example, drugs affecting bone metabolism including bisphosphonates. The Manual is available at:www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2016/06/pss-manual-may16.pdf Decisions about the commissioning and funding of bisphosphonates for the treatment and prevention of secondary breast cancer are taken by local CCGs which are best placed to know what local need exists.

Mental Health Services: Staff

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the GP Forward Review published in April 2016, how many of the 3,000 mental health therapists will have been employed by the end of each year to 2020.

David Mowat: Therapists working in general practice will be a mix of trainees and experienced therapists and will be part of integrated services in primary care, working in multi-disciplinary teams in general practices. Existing providers will employ new therapists and they will be deployed, along with experienced therapists, into general practices. The first new integrated services will start in 2017. The exact therapist numbers within each clinical commissioning group is to be determined locally.

Pathology

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for (a) his and (b) the NHS's policies of the findings of Cancer Research UK's report entitled, Testing times to come: an evaluation of pathology capacity in the UK, published in November 2016.

David Mowat: The Government welcomes the publication in November 2016 of the Cancer Research UK, Testing times to come: an evaluation of pathology capacity in the UK. Pathology services play a major role in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, as well as many other conditions. The Department’s national delivery partners are working to modernise the delivery of pathology services in the National Health Service in England, and reviewing the workforce and training that will be required in the future. Health is a devolved matter in the rest of the United Kingdom.

Department of Health: Equality

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, who the diversity champion is on his departmental board.

David Mowat: The Department of Health is committed to promoting and achieving equality and diversity in the workplace. We aim to attract and retain people who are the best in their field, with the right skills and competencies and from a diverse range of backgrounds. This diversity makes the Department better able to serve the citizens of the United Kingdom. The Departmental Board has appointed the Diversity Champions shown in the table below Diversity TopicBoard ChampionRaceLee McDonoughGenderTamara FinkelsteinLGBTClara SwinsonDisabilityDavid WilliamsSocial MobilityMark DaviesHealth and WellbeingGina Radford

Obesity: Children

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, who he, his ministerial colleagues and officials have met since 18 August 2016 to discuss Childhood Obesity: a plan for action, published on that date.

Nicola Blackwood: Details of all Ministerial meetings with external stakeholders are published quarterly in arrears on the GOV.UK website. The latest publication up to the end of September 2016 is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-external-meetings-2016 Details of meetings between Department officials and external stakeholders are not collected centrally.

Cancer

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in the building of 60 new multi-disciplinary centres for cancer diagnosis, announced by NHS England in January 2015.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to implement the cancer diagnosis test self-referral system, proposed by NHS England in January 2015.

David Mowat: NHS England’s Accelerate, Co-ordinate, Evaluate (ACE) programme is testing innovative ways of diagnosing cancer earlier. Wave 1 of this programme incorporated 60 projects looking at a number of different initiatives, including offering patients the option to self-refer for diagnostic tests; lowering referral thresholds for general practitioners; and multi-disciplinary diagnostic centres where patients can have several tests in the same place on the same day. The ACE programme is currently testing and evaluating these new approaches. The results of the evaluation of wave 1 of the ACE programme are expected to be available shortly, and will inform the work of the national cancer programme to implement the recommendations of the independent Cancer Taskforce.

Sugar: Food

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in reducing the sugar content of products for babies and young children.

Nicola Blackwood: Public Health England (PHE) is responsible for the sugar reduction and wider reformulation programme, a key commitment in the Government’s Childhood Obesity Plan. PHE will work with all sectors of the food industry (retailers, manufacturers and the eating out of the home sector) to reduce the amount of sugar in the foods that contribute most to children’s diets by 20% by 2020, with a 5% reduction in the first year. This initially focuses the programme on yoghurts, biscuits, cakes, morning goods (for example croissants and pastries), puddings, ice-cream, breakfast cereals, confectionery and sweet spreads. Products that are intended for consumption by babies and young children are included in PHE’s programme and will be considered in further detail in spring 2017. Infant formula is excluded from this programme since its composition is governed by legislation.

Smoking: Mental Health

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the disparity in smoking rates between people with and without mental health issues.

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department plans to publish the next Tobacco Control Plan for England.

Nicola Blackwood: The Government is developing a new tobacco control plan, which we will be publishing shortly. The plan will focus on tackling health inequalities and supporting priority groups, including people with mental health problems, where smoking rates remain high.

Cancer

Jo Churchill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made in implementing the Five Year Forward View commitment to increasing cancer diagnostic capacity.

Jo Churchill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how the National Diagnostic Capacity Fund will support NHS commissioners and providers to utilise independent sector providers of diagnostic services.

David Mowat: Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England, announced on 6 December that £200 million would be available in 2017/18 and 2018/19 to support Cancer Alliances to develop their approach to earlier diagnosis and living with and beyond cancer. This will include investment both to make sure services are getting the most out of our existing capacity, and to support increases in diagnostic capacity. Cancer Alliances will be submitting bids for this funding through a ‘best possible value’ process. Although Cancer Alliances are free to include independent provision as part of their bid where they feel it is appropriate and meets the ‘best possible value’ criteria, it is not a requirement.

Obesity: Children

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2016 to Question 57118, what plans he has to meet (a) the Food Innovation Network and (b) the Agri-Food Technology Council to discuss the delivery of the childhood obesity strategy.

Nicola Blackwood: There are no current plans for Ministers to meet the Agri-Food Technology Leadership Council or Food Innovation Network. Officials will continue to work with these groups and other stakeholders in the delivery of the Childhood Obesity Strategy.

Neuromuscular Disorders: Physiotherapy

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to ensure physiotherapy is available to people with muscle-wasting conditions at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust as a result of his Department's review of that hospital's therapy service provision.

David Mowat: The Department has made no review of therapy provision at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. That is a matter for the local National Health Service. NHS England advises that Rushcliffe Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), Nottingham North and East CCG, Nottingham City CCG and Nottingham West CCG this year undertook clinically-led reviews of services that fall outside the national tariff payment mechanism. The reviews were initiated because the CCGs need to ensure they are getting the best value for money when commissioning publicly funded health services. As part of this work, the CCGs identified some services currently delivered by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust that could be delivered in a community setting, closer to patients’ homes, providing better value to the local NHS and capacity within local hospitals. The CCGs are committed to continuing to provide the three neurological services provided by the Trust as a single specialty neuro-rehabilitation service provided in the community. This will be supported by the same level of clinical expertise and care as is currently provided.

General Practitioners: Enfield

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2016 to Question 56221, if he will list the seven Enfield practices which have been identified for support under the General Practice Resilience Programme.

David Mowat: Enfield Clinical Commissioning Group is currently working with seven practices that have applied for funding through the General Practice Resilience Programme, of whom four have been accepted and three are pending a decision. NHS England is unable to release the names of the practices as this information is commercially sensitive.

General Practitioners

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many medical assistants he plans to introduce into general practice in each year until 2020.

Mr Philip Dunne: The numbers of medical assistants employed in general practice will be determined by individual employers. Health Education England (HEE) will begin work to pilot and evaluate the medical assistant role in 2017. HEE are also supporting an employer led Trailblazer Group which will enable the development of an apprentice route into this occupation.

Breast Cancer: Drugs

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential detriment to patients of NICE postponing until 2018 its decision on the use of bisphosphonates for breast cancer patients.

Nicola Blackwood: The current National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline, Early and locally advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and management (CG80), makes the following recommendation: “Offer bisphosphonates to patients identified by algorithms 1 and 2 in ‘Guidance for the management of breast cancer treatment-induced bone loss: a consensus position statement from a UK expert group’ (2008) (see appendix 2 of the full guideline page 113).” NICE is currently updating this guidance and the use of adjuvant bisphosphonates has been identified as one of the key areas that will be covered in the update, which is scheduled for publication in July 2018. The guideline has been scheduled to take into account the latest available evidence on the adjuvant use of bisphosphonates for the treatment of breast cancer. In the absence of guidance from NICE, clinicians and commissioners should make decisions on the adjuvant use of bisphosphonates based on an assessment of the available evidence.

Cancer

Jo Churchill: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment the Government has made of the role of independent sector providers of diagnostic services in meeting NHS cancer diagnosis targets.

David Mowat: The independent sector provides diagnostic services to the National Health Service which supports the NHS to meet waiting time standards for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

General Practitioners: Finance

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of GP practices to receive support in 2016-17 under the General Practice Resilience Programme.

David Mowat: The General Practice Resilience Programme is a four-year £40 million programme which devolves funding to NHS England’s 13 local teams to secure and deliver a wide menu of support to practices prioritised locally, against nationally set criteria. NHS England is offering support to over a thousand general practices under the first wave of the General Practice Resilience Programme. The assessments carried out by NHS England local teams, concluded on 18 October 2016, identified 1,062 individual practices that will benefit from support this year to help improve sustainability and resilience, including support upstream of difficulties occurring. NHS England believe that the actual number to be offered support is likely to be greater, as some NHS England local teams are additionally targeting support across geographical areas more generally.

Homeopathy: Prescriptions

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2016 to Question 56390, what preparatory work has been done on the public consultation on the availability od homeopathic products in primary care to be announced in due course.

David Mowat: The Government is in the process of preparing a draft consultation document and impact assessment in line with our intention to publicly consult on the future availability of homeopathic products in primary care.

Health Services: International Cooperation

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that the UK maintains medical, treatment and pharmaceutical cooperation with other EU countries after the UK leaves the EU.

David Mowat: The United Kingdom will continue cooperating with the European Union in a number of areas. Officials in both the Department of Health and the Department for Exiting the European Union are considering all options available with the aim of achieving the best outcome for the UK health system and for the UK as a whole. The Government is committed to delivering a successful withdrawal from the EU and a new relationship with Europe, and departments will work together to deliver this.

Nutrition: Health Education

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether Public Health England identified any disadvantages to using a linear programming model to generate the food group segment sizes in the revised Eatwell Guide.

Nicola Blackwood: Public Health England established an External Reference Group to consider potential options to generate the food group segment sizes in the revised Eatwell Guide. They carefully considered the advantages and disadvantages and recommended that a linear programming approach would be the most robust and objective method and had advantages over other approaches. The approach is unbiased and uses computer programming to solve the fewest number of changes required to move from the average current diet to a diet that meets recommendations.

NHS: Yorkshire and the Humber

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS has spent in Yorkshire and the Humber in the current financial year.

Mr Philip Dunne: This information is not available centrally. In-year financial information for National Health Service organisations can be obtained from published board reports. In addition, NHS Improvement and NHS England publish quarterly NHS financial performance reports.

NHS: Sustainable Development

Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which organisations and bodies are involved in decisions on whether Sustainability and Transformation Plans are implemented; which of these organisations makes that final decision; and what the Government's policy is on requiring the implementation of such plans in the event that agreement on implementation cannot be reached.

David Mowat: Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) are an opportunity for providers and commissioners of health and care services to come together within a local area and ensure they have a plan for how they, as a group, expect to deliver services over the coming years. Ultimately it is for local organisations to decide how best to implement plans and to ensure that they have the support of NHS bodies, local government and the communities they serve. NHS England and NHS Improvement will continue to have roles in ensuring that commissioners and providers respectively deliver on their plans. STPs are not new statutory organisations and the STP process does not alter the existing accountabilities of clinical commissioning groups, local authorities or NHS provider organisations.

Medical Treatments

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment has been made of the potential effect of a £100,000 quality-adjusted life years threshold for evaluating highly specialised technologies on access to and uptake of new medicines for patients with very rare and complex diseases.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps are being taken to ensure that patients with very rare diseases are not adversely affected by the introduction of a £100,000 quality adjusted life years threshold for evaluating highly specialised technologies.

Nicola Blackwood: I refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave on 20 December 2016 to Question 57384.

Home Care Services: Training

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions has he had with Skills for Care on increasing training requirements for homecare workers from tier 1 to tier 2 in the care certificate.

David Mowat: In April 2015, the Department introduced a Certificate of Fundamental Care, now known as the Care Certificate. There is no tier 1 or tier 2 distinction in the Care Certificate. As of 1 April 2015, all new healthcare assistants and social care support workers are expected to attain the Care Certificate. It is a benchmark by which service providers can demonstrate they meet Care Quality Commission ‘staffing’ and ‘fit and proper persons employed’ requirements, and evidence of its use may be actively sought by inspectors. In support of this, and to help ensure that care workers can deliver a consistently high quality standard of care, the Department continues to invest a significant level of funding in training and developing the workforce via its delivery partner Skills for Care.

Dementia: Training

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the annual (a) budget is for and (b) spending is on dementia training for NHS workers.

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what comparative assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of dementia training provided to (a) homecare workers and (b) NHS practitioners who deliver care to people with dementia.

David Mowat: The level of spending on dementia training for National Health Service workers is for individual NHS organisations to determine based on their local needs. Responsibility for ensuring that the homecare and NHS workforces have the necessary skills and training lies with their employers. The Dementia Core Skills Education and Training Framework, published in October 2015, sets out the essential skills and knowledge needed for all staff working with people with dementia in health and social care settings. Since April 2015, newly appointed health care assistants and social care support workers, including those providing care and support to people with dementia and their carers, have been undergoing training as part of the national implementation of the Care Certificate. The Department estimates that over 100,000 social care workers have already received dementia awareness training. Tier 1 training on dementia enables NHS staff to spot the signs and symptoms of dementia and equips them to work effectively with people with the condition and their carers, and to signpost people to support and care. Almost 800,000 NHS staff have received Tier 1 training and Tier 1 tools and training opportunities will be made available to all NHS staff by the end of 2018. The 2020 Dementia Challenge published in February 2015 made clear that, by 2020, we expect social care providers to provide appropriate training on dementia to all relevant staff and for all NHS staff to receive training on dementia appropriate to their role.

Kidney Diseases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve the diagnosis and treatment of kidney failure in the UK.

David Mowat: As health is a devolved matter, steps being taken to improve the diagnosis and treatment of kidney failure in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland would be a matter for the administrations of those countries respectively. In England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance Chronic kidney (CKD) disease in adults: assessment and management, updated in July 2014, sets out best practice for clinicians in the management of CKD. The guidance covers identification and monitoring of patients at risk; pharmacological management and referral where appropriate, and aims to ensure patients remain healthy and avoid kidney failure, if possible. In August 2013, NICE published Acute kidney injury: prevention, detection and management. The guidance emphasises early intervention and stresses the importance of risk assessment and prevention, early recognition and treatment to avoid kidney failure. Both sets of guidance can be found at the following links:www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg182/resources/chronic-kidney-disease-in-adults-assessment-and-management-35109809343205www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg169/resources/acute-kidney-injury-prevention-detection-and-management-35109700165573 In addition to putting in place evidence based guidance to support clinicians to diagnose problems of the kidney, we are also working to detect people at risk of kidney disease. The NHS Health Check programme, which launched in 2008, is a universal and systematic programme for everyone between the ages of 40-74 years (not already on a chronic disease register) that assesses people’s health and risk of developing certain health problems. It is estimated that the programme could detect at least 20,000 cases of diabetes or kidney disease earlier, allowing individuals to be better managed and to improve their quality of life.

Dairy Products: Health Education

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the role of the findings of Public Health England's report, From Plate to Guide: What, Why and How for the eatwell model, published in November 2016, in the process of determining changes to recommended dairy consumption levels.

Nicola Blackwood: Public Health England's report on the development of the Eatwell Guide provides details of the approach taken, the role of an External Reference Group (ERG), a description of the independently commissioned mathematical modelling and consumer research. Linear programming, the approach considered the most objective and robust by the ERG to inform the sizes of the food group segments provided the opportunity to utilise the most up to date data available on current food patterns in the United Kingdom, the most up to date dietary recommendations; and the most up to date and robust methodology. The outcome of the linear programming work resulted in a new image with a reduced dairy and alternatives segment, but ensured that government dietary recommendations were met.

Health Services: Personal Budgets

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many personal health budgets were available in each local authority area over the last five years.

David Mowat: NHS England does not collect data on personal health budgets (PHBs) by local authority area. NHS England has, however, gathered data on the number of PHBs arranged by clinical commissioning group (CCG), via a voluntary data collection, since 2013. The national aggregate data is shown in the table below. YearNumber of PHBs in England2013/14over 2,000 PHBs2014/15over 4,300 PHBs2015/16over 7,600 PHBs In the first six months of 2016/17, 185 CCGs reported that they had arranged over 10,000 PHBs in aggregate.

Personal Budgets

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to support personal budgets which integrate health and social care funding.

David Mowat: As part of the commitment to increasing the number of people with a personal health budget, a joint NHS England and local authority led programme, Integrated Personal Commissioning Programme, is underway to explore how to bring together an individual’s health and social care funding, and give them more control over how this money is used through person-centred care planning and integrated personal budgets.Robust monitoring and measurement of the effectiveness of personal health budgets and integrated budgets is essential. NHS England has supported clinical commissioning groups to use the Personal Outcomes Evaluation Tool and is currently exploring how best to monitor quality in future. In addition, NHS England and the Department have commissioned a formal evaluation of the Integrated Personal Commissioning Programme which will report in Spring 2019. This will include considering how to design and measure joint health and social care outcomes.

Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre: Females

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many women have been held in isolation in Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre in the last month as a result of the recent outbreak of tuberculosis in that centre.

Nicola Blackwood: Information provided by the Public Health England health protection team in the East of England, indicates that in mid-November 2016 there was one confirmed case of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) diagnosed in a patient at Yarls Wood Immigration Removal Centre. As per guidance from the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, close contacts were identified, amongst whom four women presented with signs and symptoms which could be caused by TB. They were isolated until a fuller assessment was completed. They were not diagnosed with TB.

Social Networking: Harassment

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on the mental, physical and general health of users of social media platforms of online abusive content.

Nicola Blackwood: We have made significant assessments of existing research and evidence on the effects of people, especially children and young people, of using social media platforms of online abusive content. Research has shown that the increasing time children and young people spend online may impact their social and emotional well-being. Tackling the full impact of social media platforms on the lives and mental health of its users requires a cross-Government approach working collaboratively across sectors and with the online media organisations. We are therefore working with other Government Departments including the Department of Education and the Department of Culture Media and Sport, the latter of which governs the UK Council for Child and Internet Safety, which has set up a Digital Resilience Working Group. However, we believe not enough research is available in this area which is why, following the Chief Medical Officer's recommendation, we have commissioned a new prevalence study of mental ill health in 2-19 year olds. This is the first since 2004 and the first to include cyber bullying and social media. It is due to report in 2018.

Carers

Mr Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, in which month the Carers Strategy for England will be published.

David Mowat: The Department expects to publish the new national strategy for carers in the spring. No publication date has yet been set.

Palliative Care

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that palliative care is accessible to all people who need it.

David Mowat: Our ambition is for everyone approaching the end of life to receive high quality care that reflects their individual needs, choices and preferences. On 5 July 2016, we set out our commitment to end of life care in the Government response to the independent Review of Choice in End of Life Care. In 2016, the National End of Life Care Programme Board, chaired by Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS England Medical Director, was set up to oversee the implementation of the commitment. The commitments in the response will address the unacceptable variation in access to end of life care and the quality of care. They will put in place improvements in all settings where end of life care is delivered, including in hospital, in a care home, or at home, and improve access to specialist palliative care advice through urgent and emergency care clinical hubs.

Accident and Emergency Departments: North West

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, (a) how many people had to wait in corridors and other locations prior to being admitted to and (b) what the average waiting time was to be seen at accident and emergency units at (i) Royal Preston Hospital, (ii) Royal Blackburn Hospital, (iii) Royal Lancaster Infirmary and (iv) Blackpool Victoria Hospital on each day from 23 December 2016 to 2 January 2017.

Mr Philip Dunne: This information is not available in the format requested.

Ambulance Services: North West

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many ambulance crews were provided by (a) St John's Ambulance, (b) Jigsaw Medical Services and (c) other providers to North West Ambulance Services on each day from 23 December 2016 to 2 January 2017.

Mr Philip Dunne: This information is not held centrally.

NHS: Innovation

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NHS England is taking to measure the effect of NHS test beds on patient outcomes, efficiency and value for money; and what data is available on the effect of each innovation to date.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress has been made on the NHS test beds programme announced by the Chief Executive of NHS England in January 2016.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to support the adoption of successful NHS test bed innovations more widely in the NHS; and whether additional funding will be made available for that purpose.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the cost of NHS test beds to date.

Nicola Blackwood: The Test Bed Programme is a joint initiative between the Department (including the Office for Life Sciences) and NHS England. It is creating industry-National Health Service partnerships to test combinations of innovations in technologies (including Internet of Things technologies) with innovations in how NHS services are delivered to improve health and care outcomes at the same or lower cost than existing practice. There are seven test bed sites across England responding to locally identified clinical challenges. For example, patients with diabetes, in the West of England test bed site, are being equipped with remote monitoring and coaching technology to allow them to better self-manage their condition. All the test beds are now implementing their plans, with a focus on patient recruitment, deploying technological solutions, testing combinations and starting data collection for their evaluation phase. They are due to complete in March 2018 and information on the effectiveness of their combinatorial innovations will be published soon after. Further details of the seven Test Bed sites can be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/innovation/test-beds/ NHS England and the Department have put in place a package of support for the test beds including solving day-to-day operational issues as well as a programme of work exploring the system tools and levers that will be needed to support the wider adoption of successful innovations. For example, successful innovations may be funded the new innovation tariff developed by NHS England or through other national programmes. Evaluation is central to the Test Bed programme. We want to understand the impact of the new combinations of innovations within each test bed, as well as the overall success of the programme. To this end, the test beds will undertake local evaluations of impact and value of the innovations for patients, the local health system and innovators. These local evaluations will be complemented by a national evaluation that will develop a framework that can be used to evaluate future innovations of this nature. It will build on the local evaluations by developing an approach which distils the outcomes and efficiency measurements from each Test Bed into a national framework. The evaluations will be made available on completion of the programme. Total test bed funding across the seven sites to date is approximately £4 million. Over the lifetime of the programme (two years), innovator partners would have contributed an estimated £18 million to the NHS.

Mental Health Services: Staff

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many mental health trusts the Care Quality Commission has identified as being short-staffed in each of the last five years.

Nicola Blackwood: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. The CQC has advised it does not hold centrally information on which trusts have been identified as being short staffed.

Mental Health Services

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what sustainability and transformation plans have been identified as failing to make adequate plans for mental health provision; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure that all areas have adequate mental health plans in place.

David Mowat: NHS England is currently working with Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) on their plans to improve mental health provision, incorporating priorities from the Five Year Forward View for Mental Health. The 2017/18-2018/19 contracting and operational planning round has strengthened STPs in this respect. Discussions with local patients, clinicians and communities in individual STP areas will also strengthen these plans over the coming months.

Mental Health Services

Barbara Keeley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many Improving Access to Psychological Therapies services are based within a primary care setting.

Nicola Blackwood: Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) services are provided and commissioned locally and therefore this information is not held centrally; however as part of the IAPT expansion to increase access to an additional 600,000 per year 3,000 new mental health therapists will be co-located in primary care as set out in the General Practice Forward View. During 2016/17 and 2017/18, a targeted group of geographies will work to develop the evidence base for implementing new integrated IAPT services at scale, supported by wider investment in training and infrastructure. From 2018/19 integrated services will be rolled out across all clinical commissioning groups in line with the published trajectories.

Carers

Mr Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of identified carers in England have been assessed by their local authority under the terms of the Care Act 2014.

David Mowat: Local authorities carried out 255,750 carer assessments in 2015/16, following the Care Act coming into force in April 2015. This figure represents around two-thirds of the total number of carers identified by local authorities in England (386,910) in that year. The diversity of caring roles – and the impact that caring might have on the carer - means that not every carer will want or need an assessment; and not every carer will want or need formal support through local adult care services. The forthcoming national Carers Strategy will therefore take a wide view of carers and their caring roles. Crucial to this will be increasing public awareness of caring, in order to improve timely identification, ensure carers are aware of the range of support available to them, and can take advantage of that which best meets their needs.

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the number of patients diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis by a multidisciplinary team in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

David Mowat: No assessment has been made of the number of patients diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis by a multidisciplinary team in each of the last five years. This information is not held in the format requested.

NHS: Sustainable Development

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what governance arrangements his Department plans to put in place for overseeing the implementation of each sustainability and transformation plan.

David Mowat: Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) are an opportunity for providers and commissioners of health and care services to come together within a local area and ensure they have a plan for how they, as a group, expect to deliver services over the coming years. Ultimately it is for local areas to decide how best to deliver these plans but NHS England and National Health Service Improvement continue to have roles in ensuring that commissioners and providers respectively deliver on their plans. STPs are a tool for local organisations to help ensure that their strategic planning decisions are better aligned. They are not statutory bodies. It is for local organisations to decide how best to implement plans and to ensure that they have the support of National Health Service bodies, local government and the communities they serve.

NHS: North West

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what costs have been (a) incurred to date and (b) committed for the development and management of the sustainability and transformation plan process for Cheshire and Merseyside.

Mr Philip Dunne: Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STP) have been developed by local areas. In Cheshire and Merseyside this includes 12 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), 20 National Health Service provider trusts and Cheshire and Merseyside local authorities. These partners are contributing from their own staff resources to support the multiple programmes and work streams set out in the plan, and staff are working on the STP in addition to their other management roles. As a result, we do not hold the total cost of developing the STP.

Out of Area Treatment: Wales

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what arrangements his Department has put in place for NHS provision in England for patients residing in Wales.

David Mowat: The National Health Service in Wales is responsible for arranging health care for people resident in Wales, and is accountable, through Welsh Ministers, to the National Assembly for Wales. Welsh NHS bodies are able to commission English providers to provide services for people resident in Wales. Any such arrangements are agreed between the bodies concerned, rather than put in place by the Secretary of State.

Mental Health Services: Children

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS has spent on child mental health services in England and Wales in each year since 2010.

Nicola Blackwood: The available estimated National Health Service spend on children and young people’s mental health services in England only from 2010 is provided below. Healthcare is a devolved responsibility and the Department is not able to give information on the amount spent by the Welsh Government. NHS Programme Budgeting data included estimated spending on children and young people’s mental health between 2009/10 and 2012/13 are found on NHS England’s website here:https://www.networks.nhs.uk/nhs-networks/health-investment-network/news/2012-13-programme-budgeting-data-is-now-availableNHS England’s financial reporting system estimated spending on children and young people’s mental health services in 2015/16 is set out in the following table. Clinical Commissioning Group Spend  2015 to 2016 Outturn (millions)Children and young people’s mental health (excluding learning disability)476,875Children and young people’s eating disorders39,518Total Clinical Commissioning Group Children and Young People’s Mental Health (excluding learning disability)516,393  Specialised Commissioning Spend2015 to 2016 Outturn (millions)Tier 4295,301Total Specialised Commissioning Children and Young People’s Mental Health295,301* Children and young people’s mental health spend data is not available from NHS England’s formal financial planning and reporting before 2015/16. NHS England published the Clinical Commissioning Guidance Improvement and Assessment Framework for Mental Health on 27 October 2016. It includes a specific indicator on children and young people’s mental health that takes in planning, quality assurance and finance and is weighted towards those meeting the mental health investment standard for children and young people.

Clinical Trials: Nottingham

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will investigate the potential conflict of interest within the Health Technology Assessment Programme whereby some people responsible for awarding funding for the CLOTHES clinical trials were simultaneously heading the Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit to which such funding was granted.

Nicola Blackwood: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Healthcare Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme has a clear conflict of interests procedure to ensure that each application is judged on merit. Any panel member on the NIHR HTA Commissioning Board with a conflict of interest is asked to leave the room during any discussion or decision on these projects or issues. Any conflicts are recorded in the minutes and made public after the meeting. The NIHR HTA Commissioning Board agreed to fund the CLOTHES trial at the Board’s July 2012 meeting and the public minutes can be found online here: http://www.nets.nihr.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0016/13525/minutes-jul-2012.pdf

Clinical Trials

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the peer review system for (a) the CLOTHES trial at Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit and (b) other clinical trials.

Nicola Blackwood: The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Healthcare Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme follows a process of expert review through which research briefs, research applications and final reports are critically assessed by relevant individuals unconnected to both the decision making body and those who have prepared the material being assessed.The practice of peer review is very commonly used to inform decision making for scientific publications and grant funding. It involves colleagues in a relevant field of expertise, including patients, members of the public, subject experts, clinical staff, service managers and public health professionals. The reviewers are selected by the NIHR. Expert review was undertaken for the CLOTHES trial, in accordance with NIHR HTA policy. This included one public and four expert representatives. Checks were carried out to ensure that all reviewers were suitably qualified and were not conflicted.

Stem Cells: Transplant Surgery

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on patient outcomes of NHS England's decision not to routinely fund second stem cell transplants for patients whose disease relapses.

Nicola Blackwood: Decisions related to the commissioning of National Health Service treatments in England are made by NHS England using a published process that involves an impact assessment. The Department currently has no plans to review the effect of NHS England’s decision to not routinely fund stem cell transplants for patients with relapsed disease.

Health Services

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to improve the transparency of NHS England's clinical prioritisation process for specialised services.

David Mowat: The Government has laid out its plans to improve transparency in Specialised Commissioning in its recent Treasury Minute in response to the 10th Report of the Public Accounts Committee, Session 2016-17, HC397.Details of its response can be found at the following address from page 53:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/565426/57448_Cm_9351_Treasury_Minutes_Accessible.pdf Details of considerations and decisions made by the Specialised Services Commissioning Committee are reported to NHS England and published through regular updates to the Board and NHS England‘s website. To improve clarity of its decision-making processes, NHS England has also published on its website the details of the key roles and functions of the advisory committees and decision-making bodies for specialised services. In terms of decisions on new treatments, NHS England published Developing a method to assist investment decisions in specialised commissioning: NHS England’s response to consultation in June 2016 to support investment decisions in specialised commissioning. This describes how new clinical commissioning policy is initiated, developed, evaluated and determined. NHS England is working on similar documents which will describe the process for developing service specifications Commissioning through Evaluation and Managed Access schemes.

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the financial situation of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust; and what remedial steps he is taking to improve that Trust's financial situation.

Mr Philip Dunne: Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust entered Financial Special Measures in October 2016. We are advised by NHS Improvement that the Trust has identified a range of measures to deliver efficiency savings and financial controls within the organisation. Partnership arrangements between Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have been developed and, from April 2017, the Chair and Chief Executive of Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust will assume dual-roles across both Trusts. A cross-organisation Improvement Oversight Group comprising of the leadership of both Trusts, has been set up to oversee the development of these arrangements and set the pace for delivering sustained improvement across all services.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Equality

Clive Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2016 to Question 40488, if he will list his Department's director-level diversity champions.

Margot James: The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s Senior Civil Service (SCS) Diversity and Inclusion Champions are listed below, along with their SCS grade.Angie Ridgwell, Director General - Finance and Corporate ServicesGareth Davies, Director General - Business and ScienceNiall Mackenzie, Director - Energy, Materials and Agri-TechSusannah Simon, Director - European ReformLuis Castro, Deputy Director - Portfolio OfficeEmma Ward, Director - StrategyStephen Speed, Director - Energy DevelopmentParo Konar-Thakkar, Economic AdvisorJames Maskell, Deputy Director - LegalCraig Lucas, Director - Science and InnovationDan Osgood, Director - Heat and Business EnergyJon Booth, Director - Home and Local EnergyKatrina Williams, Director- General, International, Science and ResilienceZilla Bowell, Deputy Director - Civil Nuclear Security and Safety Assurance

Green Deal Scheme

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations his Department has received from consumers on the sale of Green Deal services by Home Energy and Lifestyle Management Ltd.

Jesse Norman: The Department is aware that some customers of the Green Deal Provider, Home Energy & Lifestyle Management Ltd (HELMS), have made allegations that they were mis-sold their Green Deal plans by HELMS. In November 2015, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State imposed sanctions on HELMS for breaches of the Green Deal Code of Practice. HELMS has since gone into liquidation. It would not be appropriate to comment on individual cases at this stage. However, customers who have complaints about their plans should raise these with the Green Deal Ombudsman or Financial Ombudsman Service as appropriate.

Employment Tribunals Service: Fines

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 7 September 2016 to Question 44543, how many (a) warning notices and (b) financial penalties have been issued to respondent employers to date under section 150 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 for failure to pay an employment tribunal award; how many of those financial penalties (i) have been paid and (ii) remain unpaid; and how much in previously unpaid awards has been recovered by his Department following (A) the issuing of a warning notice only and (B) the issuing of both a warning notice and a financial penalty.

Margot James: One hundred and sixty eight warning letters and 60 financial penalty notices have been issued to date by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to respondent employers under section 150 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 for failure to pay an employment tribunal award.Financial penalties go to the Government. One financial penalty has been paid and 46 remain unpaid. The Department has recovered £98,667.53 in unpaid awards for claimants following the issuing of a warning letter only. An additional £750 unpaid award for a claimant was recovered as a result of the issuing of a warning letter and subsequently a financial penalty notice.

Employment Tribunals Service: Fines

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2016 to Question 44542, how many financial penalties have been imposed to date on respondent employers for aggravated breach of employment law under section 16 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013; how many such penalties (a) have been paid and (b) remain unpaid; and what the total sum paid in penalties is.

Margot James: Eighteen financial penalties have been imposed to date on respondent employers for aggravated breach of employment law under section 16 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. Of these, 12 penalties have been paid. 2 penalties were unrecoverable due to the companies being either dissolved or liquidated. 4 remain unpaid and continue to be pursued. The total sum paid in financial penalties is £17,704.17.

Wind Power

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2016 to Question 57518, what the strike price comparator is for Hinkley Point C.

Jesse Norman: The Strike Price comparator for Hinkley Point C is the HPC Strike Price; this is £92.50/MWh (2012 prices), which is reduced to £89.50/MWh (2012 prices) if a final investment decision on Sizewell C is reached.

Wind Power

Callum McCaig: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2016 to Question 57518, if his Department will publish the methodology used to calculate strike price comparators for renewable energy technologies.

Jesse Norman: The various costs associated with electricity generation that make up each Strike Price comparator are set out in the BEIS Electricity Generation Cost report published November 2016.

Small Businesses: Innovation

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the (a) increase in sales, (b) additional investment attracted, (c) creation of jobs and (d) creation of intellectual property resulting from the work of the Small Business Research Initiative in each year since that body was established.

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many firms have received funding through the Small Business Research Initiative to (a) test an idea and (b) develop a prototype in each year since that body was established.

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Small Business Research Initiative; and if he will make a statement.

Joseph Johnson: We do not currently hold data on individual firms. However, we do hold information on the number of contracts awarded under the scheme.Firms are awarded Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) funding through contracts on a competitive basis in two phases:(i) Phase 1, which typically provides up to £100,000 for companies to test the feasibility of their ideas;(ii) Phase 2, which typically provides up to £1,000,000 for companies to develop a prototype or demonstrator.The details of Phase 1 and Phase 2 SBRI contracts awarded are below: 2009/102010/112011/122012/132013/142014/152015/16Phase 1340164246313327418268Phase 2932128106559655On 21 November, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced that she had asked David Connell from the Centre for Business Research at the Cambridge Judge Business School to review the Small Business Research Initiative.The review is examining how we can maximise the impact of the SBRI programme to improve procurement outcomes for government, support and stimulate innovation by SMEs.The review will report in spring this year.

Charity Research Support Fund

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what consideration has been given to supporting charity investment in universities through increasing investment in the Charity Research Support Fund.

Joseph Johnson: The Government recognises the significant contribution made by charitable funders of research. The charity support element of Quality Related research funding, provided by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), recognises the public benefit arising from research funded by charities. Over the period 2011-17, HEFCE has protected support for institutions leveraging funding from the charitable sector and has provided £198m per annum for this through to 2016-17.The “Allocation of Science and Research funding 2016 – 2020” confirmed the Government’s expectation that throughout this period HEFCE should continue to incentivise Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) to work with businesses and charities, leveraging additional investment. It will be for the HEFCE Board to determine how much to provide for charity research support from within their overall research allocation for 2017-18, once they have received their annual Grant Letter from Ministers.

Medicine: Research

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what incentives the Government provides to support biomedical research into the most deadly global diseases.

Joseph Johnson: The Government is committed to maintain and enhance the strength of our research base. This is why we have protected the science resource budget in real terms from its 2015/16 level of £4.7 billion for the rest of the parliament, as well as committing to invest in new scientific infrastructure on a record scale – £6.9 billion over the period 2015- 21.We are introducing a new Global Challenges Research Fund of £1.5 billion over the Spending Review period to support research on global issues affecting developing countries. The Newton Fund will also be doubled to £150 million a year by 2021.At Autumn Statement 2016 we announced that we will make Britain the global go-to nation for scientists, innovators and tech investors, by investing an extra £2 billion a year in R&D by 2020/21. We are committed to ensure that the UK continues to be a world leader in international science, including biomedical research.

Coal: Exports

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many tonnes of coal the UK has exported in the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The table below gives the amount of coal which the UK exported in the last 10 years: UK Coal Exports (thousand tonnes)2006443200754420085992009646201071520114912012488201359320144252015385Total5,331 Source: Table DUKES 2.4 Digest of UK Energy Statistics, July 2016, available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solid-fuels-and-derived-gases-chapter-2-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes

Consumer Protection Measures in the Ticket Resale Market Review

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish his response to the independent report into the consumer protection measures concerning online secondary ticketing facilities, published in May 2016.

Margot James: The Government is considering Professor Waterson’s Review.

Companies Act 2006

Roger Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many financial penalties have been awarded in relation to a company's duty to keep a register of secretaries under section 275(6) of the Companies Act 2006 since 1 January 2015.

Margot James: No financial penalties have been awarded in relation to the section referred to since 1st January 2015

Companies Act 2006

Roger Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many financial penalties have been awarded in relation to the direction requiring a company to make appointment under section 156(6) of the Companies Act 2006 since 1 January 2015.

Margot James: When a company that is actively trading does not have a natural director (a director who is an individual rather than a corporate body), Companies House will (on behalf of the Secretary of State) issue a direction requiring the company to appoint one. Companies House's primary aim will be to try to achieve compliance. If the company does not comply, the case will be referred to prosecutors and a prosecution will be bought if it is deemed to be in the public interest. In the event of a conviction the Court would impose the appropriate penalty. However, to date, all companies have either complied with the direction issued by Companies House or prosecution action has not been in the public interest as defined in the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

Companies Act 2006

Roger Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many financial penalties have been awarded in relation to the register of directors under section 162(6) of the Companies Act 2006 since 1 January 2015.

Margot James: Since 1st January 2015 no financial penalties have been awarded in relation to the register of directors under the section referred to.

Companies Act 2006

Roger Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many financial penalties have been awarded in relation to failure to deliver annual returns under section 858(1) of the Companies Act 2006 since 1 January 2015.

Margot James: During the period the Court imposed 4,701 fines on companies in relation to failure deliver annual returns under section 858(1) of the Companies Act 2006. The total value of the fines levied was £671,906

Companies Act 2006

Roger Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many financial penalties have been awarded in relation to duty to notify registrars of changes under section 167(4) of the Companies Act 2006 since 1 January 2015.

Margot James: Since 1st January 2015, no financial penalties have been awarded in relation to the section referred to.

Ministry of Defence

Imphal Barracks

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of (a) recruitment and (b) redundancy as a result of the rebasing programme at Imphal Barracks.

Mark Lancaster: As a result of both the merger of Headquarters of 15 (North East) Brigade with 4 Mechanised Brigade and the move of Headquarters 1st (UK) Division from Germany to York there were no civil servant redundancies and no external recruitment. Civil servants were relocated from Germany to the UK and vacancies were filled by existing civil servants. Gratuity payments made to locally employed staff in Germany are considered to be a part of the wider drawdown of UK forces from Germany and are therefore not included.

Military Bases: Yorkshire and the Humber

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total cost to the public purse was of locating Army units from Imphal Barracks in York to Catterick Barracks in 2014; and what proportion of that cost was spent on upgrading accommodation in Catterick.

Mark Lancaster: The costs of relocating military units from Imphal Barracks, York to Catterick form part of the routine military rotations and cannot be apportioned to individual moves. The accommodation at Catterick was not upgraded as a result of this move.

Ministry of Defence: Credit Unions

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department permits its employees to join a credit union through payroll deductions; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Lancaster: In October 2015, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) launched a facility to make Credit Union services available to UK Regular Armed Forces personnel via payroll deductions. Three chosen Credit Unions are now working together collectively under the banner 'Joining Forces' to provide Service personnel with access to dependable savings facilities and safe, affordable loans. Further details are available from their website:http://joiningforcescu.co.uk/The MOD does not have an arrangement with a Credit Union for its civilian employees.

Syria: Armed Conflict

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what rules of engagement have been given to UK forces in Syria on the status in terms of the law of armed conflict of UK nationals whom they encounter who are supporting forces allied to (a) the government of Syria, (b) Daesh and (c) the Free Syrian Army.

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what rules of engagement have been given to UK armed forces operating in Iraq on the status in terms of the law of armed conflict of UK nationals whom they encounter who are supporting forces allied to (a) the government of Iraq and (b) Daesh.

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether specific rules of engagement have been given to UK special forces in Iraq on the status in terms of the law of armed conflict of UK nationals whom they encounter who are supporting forces allied to (a) the government of Iraq and (b) Daesh.

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether specific rules of engagement have been given to UK special forces in Syria on the status in terms of the law of armed conflict of UK nationals whom they encounter who are supporting forces allied to (a) the government of Iraq, (b) Daesh and (c) the Free Syrian Army.

Mike Penning: It is longstanding policy not to comment on specific UK Rules of Engagement profiles. UK forces operate in accordance with UK law and International Humanitarian Law.

Ministry of Defence: Land

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will take steps to ensure that future charges for use of Ministry of Defence land for civilian events are set at a rate that ensures the long-term financial viability and sustainability of physical activities such as orienteering and are consistent with the Government's cross-departmental Sporting Future strategy.

Mark Lancaster: The public are able to stage civilian events on Ministry of Defence land where it does not impact military capability. Our rates are competitive and comparable to similar hiring charges in the locality. This approach is consistent with the aims of the Sporting Future strategy.

Warships

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effect of lean manning on HM ships on their ability to fight in high-intensity and sustained action.

Mike Penning: The Royal Navy (RN) continually assesses the number of personnel required for the safe operation of its ships from their design phase through to their deployments. All RN ships will be deployed with the personnel required to meet their operational tasking.

Navy: Finance

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the financial situation of the Royal Navy; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the sustainability of the Royal Navy fleet in terms of (a) spare parts and (b) missiles.

Harriett Baldwin: The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 (SDSR 2015) ensured that investment in capability remained in balance with financial requirements to deliver future Defence commitments. For the Royal Navy (RN), SDSR 15 set out plans for investment in the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers, 19 frigates and destroyers, and further Offshore Patrol Vessels, new tankers and support ships by 2030.As part of its planning process the RN continues to work alongside other areas of the Ministry of Defence to ensure that all the support and capability programmes are in place to enable it to meet its global operational tasking.

Iraq: Weapons

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what procedures his Department has in place to monitor the use of weapons supplied to Iraqi Peshmerga forces and other legitimate Iraqi forces to prevent them being diverted to unauthorised end-users.

Mike Penning: The UK assesses the requirement and the risks involved in the provision of any lethal equipment to third parties. We have only gifted weapons and ammunition to the Kurdish Regional Government for use by their forces in the fight against Daesh. The export process includes a certificate which states clearly who the end user will be. We are content with the controls the Kurdish Regional Government have in place for distribution of UK-supplied weaponry, and with the assurances we have received from them.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Housing: Construction

Neil Parish: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support the creation of traditional, street-based, high-density designs in new housing developments.

Gavin Barwell: The Government is very clear that good design is a key aspect of sustainable development, is indivisible from good planning, and should contribute positively to making places better for people. We want to see new developments that function well and add to the overall quality of the area, that establish a strong sense of place by using streetscapes and buildings to create attractive and comfortable places to live, work and visit. Our planning guidance reinforces this strong focus on design, and provides advice on tools for delivery - including design codes. However, it is for local authorities and their communities, through their Local Plans and Neighbourhood plans, to set out the quality of design that they wish to see in their area.

Solar Power: Non-domestic Rates

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of business rate increases on the UK solar industry.

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to prevent proposed business rate changes from causing potential detriment to the solar industry.

Mr Marcus Jones: Business rates are based on valuations from the Valuation Office Agency and we do not intervene in their independent assessments. We have put in place a £3.6 billion transitional relief scheme for England to support ratepayers at the 2017 revaluation.

Council Housing

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discretionary powers he proposes to allow local authorities to (a) provide older residents with lifetime local authority tenancies and (b) tailor fixed-term tenancies to suit local housing needs.

Gavin Barwell: We have introduced fixed term tenancies for all new council tenancies to ensure we get the best use out of our social housing stock and focus this valuable resoucre on those who need it the most for as long as they need it.The changes will apply to new tenants, but will not apply to existing lifetime tenants who remain in their own home or those required to move by their landlord. Where existing lifetime tenants choose to move, councils will be able to grant the tenant a further lifetime tenancy in their new home in circumstances to be set out in regulations. We have not finalised the draft regulations but expect these will include, for example, where tenants, including older people, downsize into a smaller home.Fixed term tenancies must be between two and ten years in length, or may be longer in the case of families with children, to cover the time a child is in school education. We will issue statutory guidance to set out the circumstances in which councils may grant longer term tenancies and expect this to include lettings to older people.Accompanying guidance will also make clear that, where a tenant's circumstances are broadly unchanged at the end of the fixed term, we expect landlords will normally grant a further tenancy in the same property.

Council Housing

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, (a) how many people live in local authority housing in (i) Newcastle upon Tyne, (ii) the North East and (iii) England and (b) what proportion of such people are in receipt of housing benefit.

Gavin Barwell: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Land: Contamination

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what funding streams are available to communities that require remediation of contaminated land.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

EU Grants and Loans

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what mechanisms are in place to enable the Government to assess whether funding will be agreed for specific European Social Fund and European Regional Development Fund projects signed since the Autumn Statement 2016; how such projects will be assessed against the two criteria of value for money and alignment with domestic priorities; and whether such assessments will be undertaken before or after agreements have been signed.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Derelict Land

Sir David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps the Government is taking to incentivise housebuilders to develop brownfield sites.

Gavin Barwell: This Government has intensified its drive to increase the take-up of brownfield sites for development, especially new homes. National policy and guidance expect local authorities to prioritise brownfield land for development wherever practicable, and adopt Local Plan policies that support this effort. We want 90 per cent of suitable brownfield sites to have permissions for new homes in place by 2020. As well as accelerating disposal of public sector brownfield for new homes and widening the scope of permitted development to help bring thousands of redundant buildings into residential use, we recently launched our £3 billion Home Building Fund. This will provide loans for smaller building firms, custom builders, offsite construction and essential infrastructure, and help to make more land, much of it brownfield, available for new homes. An additional £1.2 billion will enable starter homes to be created on brownfield land. Housebuilders will be better informed about suitable sites by the new Brownfield Registers, and Permission in principle will give them certainty and greater confidence that their housing schemes can go ahead.

Local Government Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, who will be invited to contribute to the fair funding review on local government finances; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Fair Funding Review will conduct a thorough review of what the relative needs assessment formula for local councils should be in a world in which local government spending is funded by local resources not central grant.To help shape the Fair Funding Review, the Government has been engaging with representatives from across local government through a technical working group which is co-chaired with the Local Government Association. The Government has also published a public Call for Evidence on the key issues the Review will cover which received 209 responses.There will be further public consultation shortly.

Local Government Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects the fair funding review on local government finance to be completed.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Local Government Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what local government services will be included in the fair funding review on local government finance; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Fair Funding Review will conduct a thorough review of what the relative needs assessment formula for local councils should be in a world in which local government spending is funded by local resources not central grant. It will set the baselines for the introduction of the 100% Business Rates Retention system and will consider all of the duties currently funded through the local government finance settlement. Any new duties devolved to councils will be assessed on a case by case base.

Local Government Finance

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, who is leading the fair funding review on local government finance.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government is leading the Fair Funding Review.

Accommodation Agencies: Fees and Charges

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of the cost of letting agent fees on the ability of homeless people go access private tenancies.

Gavin Barwell: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Housing: Construction

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what powers local authorities have to enforce planning conditions placed on housing developments.

Gavin Barwell: Local planning authorities have a wide range of powers to tackle breaches of planning control. Failure to comply with a planning condition would normally be dealt with by serving a breach of condition notice or an enforcement notice requiring the recipient to remedy the breach. Full details of their powers can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ensuring-effective-enforcement.

Communities and Local Government: Labour Mobility

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many civil servants in each unit of his Department are in the redeployment pool.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Equality

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, who the diversity champion is on his departmental board.

David Mundell: I place great importance on the Scotland Office’s commitment to Diversity. The governance of the Scotland Office and the Office of the Advocate General is overseen by the Offices’ Joint Management Board, which I chair. The Diversity Champions on the Board are Francesca Osowska, Director of the Scotland Office, and Michael Chalmers, Director of the Office of the Advocate General. The Government introduced Diversity Champions as part of the Talent Action Plan commitment to have champions in all departments.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with the Scottish Government regarding jobcentre closure proposals for Glasgow.

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether his Office was consulted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on its proposals for the reduction of DWP estate in Glasgow.

David Mundell: I refer the hon Member to my answers of 14 December 2016 (UINs 56910 and 56916) and 20 December 2016 (UIN 57929). For JobCentre Plus offices over three miles or 20 minutes away by public transport, DWP are carrying out local consultation prior to implementing any changes to help inform decisions about additional provision, such as outreach services. The consultation is available online and through the affected Jobcentres. This consultation was launched immediately after the announcements were made, and is open until 31 January. Staff will also advise customers on alternative Jobcentre locations, taking into account travel and access to the local labour market.

Jobcentres: Glasgow

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what discussions he has had with representatives  of the Scottish Government on support for disabled people who currently rely on services at Castlemilk and Langside jobcentres.

David Mundell: The UK Government is committed to retaining an accessible Jobcentre network to serve customers in all areas of the country. We will also continue working with the Scottish Government to support disabled people in Scotland. Castlemilk is one of the three JobCentre Plus offices in Glasgow where DWP are carrying out local consultation prior to implementing any changes to help inform decisions about additional provision, such as outreach services. The consultation is available online and through the affected Jobcentres and was launched immediately after the announcements were made. The consultation is open until 31 January and the Minister for Employment also met with Glasgow MPs recently to discuss their concerns. Staff in the affected Jobcentres, which includes both Castlemilk and Langside, will also advise customers on alternative Jobcentre locations, taking into account travel and access to the local labour market.

Scotland Office: Credit Unions

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether his Department permits its employees to join a credit union through payroll deductions; and if he will make a statement.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office does not employ staff directly. Matters relating to the terms and conditions of service of staff, including information in relation to payroll deductions of staff are matters for the employing bodies.

Food Banks

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he has visited a food bank in December 2016.

Alison Thewliss: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what plans he has to visit a food bank in January 2017.

David Mundell: I visited a foodbank in my capacity as a Member of Parliament earlier in this parliamentary term. The reasons behind foodbank use are complex and it is widely acknowledged that food bank use cannot be attributed to a single cause. The UK Government is clear that work is the best route out of poverty, and the number of people in employment in Scotland is up by 123,000 since 2010. The Scottish Government now hold the main levers to shape and strengthen the economy in Scotland, as well as taking responsibility for significant policy choices in relation to welfare.

Official Visits: Scotland

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many official visits Government Ministers have made to Scotland in the last six months.

David Mundell: Government Ministers from a range of Departments make regular visits throughout the United Kingdom, including in Scotland. Details of meetings with external organisations are published in quarterly returns which are available at gov.uk.

Age: Discrimination

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will support the introduction of Frank's Law to prevent age discrimination against those aged under 65.

David Mundell: Health and social care policies in Scotland are devolved, and the policy of free personal and nursing care is a matter for the Scottish Government.

Department for International Trade

Trade Promotion

Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking to promote British values of fairness, tolerance and equality in his discussions with potential future trade partners.

Mark Garnier: The UK has long supported the promotion of our values globally and this will continue as we leave the EU.We are working closely with counterparts across a wide range of countries and markets, in order to promote the UK as a great place to do business and with which to trade, and to ensure that Britain becomes a global leader in free trade once we leave the EU.

Antidumping

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, how the UK's representative on the Committee of Permanent Representatives was instructed to vote on the proposals to modernise the UK's trade defence instruments.

Greg Hands: Department for International Trade indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Transport

Eurostar

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what stake or degree of control the Government retains in Eurostar.

Paul Maynard: The Government has no financial stake or control in Eurostar, which is a private company.

Eurostar

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Eurostar operating days in each of the last five years have been affected by people on the track.

Paul Maynard: The Department for Transport do not hold any information relating to the number of Eurostar operating days affected by people on the track.

Eurotunnel

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost has been of policing the Eurotunnel and its associated rail services in each of the last five years  .

Paul Maynard: The UK Channel Tunnel terminal and associated Eurotunnel shuttle services are policed by Kent Police and the costs are directly billed to Eurotunnel. The Department for Transport does not hold information on the cost of these services.

Eurostar

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what responsibility the Office of Rail and Road has for regulating the operation of Eurostar.

Paul Maynard: Eurostar is a GB licensed railway undertaking regulated by the Office of Rail and Road. Full background information on the licensing and operating requirements can be found on the website of the Office of Rail and Road at the following address:http://orr.gov.uk/what-and-how-we-regulate/licensing/licensing-railway-operators

Railways: Standards

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what criteria his Department uses when assessing whether to withdraw a franchise from a consistently poorly-performing railway operator.

Paul Maynard: The franchise agreement contains incentive/penalty regimes to encourage operators to meet/exceed the performance targets. Where, despite these regimes there are performance issues, the Department takes a stepped approach to managing any failure of a franchised train operator to deliver its franchise obligations, taking account of factors such as the impact on passengers and taxpayers, in line with its published enforcement policy. Sanctions may include requiring the operator to implement a remedial plan to provide redress, a financial penalty, or in the most extreme cases removal of the franchise.

Railways: Standards

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what sanctions other than franchise withdrawal his Department has used to hold poorly performing railway operators to account.

Paul Maynard: The Department takes a stepped approach to managing any failure of a franchised train operator to deliver its franchise obligations, taking account of factors such as the impact on passengers and taxpayers, in line with its published enforcement policy, which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/529553/enforcement-policy-rail-franchise-agreements-and-closures.pdf

Railways: Standards

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, under what circumstances a railway franchise has been withdrawn from a poorly performing operator; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Maynard: The National Express East Coast franchise was withdrawn by the Department on the basis of failure to deliver its franchise obligations.

Department for Transport: iNHouse Communications

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is in communication with iNHouse Communications Ltd in relation to any ongoing commercial tender process.

Mr John Hayes: My Department is not engaged in any current commercial tendering process with InHouse Communications Ltd.

Department for Transport: iNHouse Communications

Melanie Onn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has awarded any commercial contracts to iNHouse Communications Ltd in the last five years.

Mr John Hayes: My Department has not awarded any commercial contracts to iNHouse Communications Ltd. In the last five years.

Shipping: Scotland

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will formally consult the Scottish Government on ship-to-ship transfer proposals that affect Scottish waters.

Mr John Hayes: Officials from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency are in regular contact with their counterparts in the Scottish Government on the subject of ship-to-ship transfer proposals that affect Scottish waters, and on the development of the policy itself. With regard to the ship-to-ship transfer licence application in the Cromarty Firth, in the event that a revised application is submitted we fully intend that the Scottish Government will be formally consulted.

M6 Toll

Mr Khalid Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Midlands Expressway on usage of the M6 Toll Road.

Mr John Hayes: The Government has had recent discussions with Midland Expressway in order to renew an existing agreement to provide resilience to the Strategic Road Network in exceptional circumstances. General usage on the Toll road is a matter for the operator.

Roads: Accidents

Mrs Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the number of road accident casualties that have been (a) seriously and (b) slightly injured that have been unreported to the police in each of the last three years.

Andrew Jones: The below table shows the best estimate of the number of road accident casualties in Great Britain that have been (a) seriously and (b) slightly injured that have been unreported to the police for the last three years. Thousands of casualties (estimates rounded to the nearest 10 thousand)YearInjury severityBest estimate of unreported casualtiesLower estimateUpper estimate2011-15Serious603090Slight4603805402010-14Serious7040100Slight4803905502009-13Serious6040100Slight460380540 The unreported road casualties are based on questions asked in the National Travel Survey (NTS) which are based on a sample survey and are subject to uncertainty resulting from small sample sizes. The estimates are created from data collected from the NTS over five years to produce a robust statistic. All estimates are rounded to the nearest ten thousand to reflect the uncertainty. As the total number of road accident casualties is subject to considerable uncertainty, the lower and upper estimates provided above indicate the range in which the precise number of unreported casualties is likely to fall. All of the changes between the years are within the upper and lower estimate range. This indicates that the apparent changes are as a result of sampling error rather than a change in the number of casualties. These figures are also available within table RAS54004.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Iran: Guided Weapons

Ian Paisley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment the Government has made of Iran's ballistic missile programme.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Iran's ballistic missile programme remains a significant concern. UN Security Council Resolution 2231 calls upon Iran to not undertake activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, and we urge Iran to abide by this. We keep Iran's ballistic missile programme under constant review and we remain committed to enforcing all international restrictions on it.

Saudi Arabia: Arms Trade

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in Saudi Arabia on future arms deals with the UK.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign Secretary, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Mr Johnson) has discussed issues relating to the continued export of arms from the UK to Saudi Arabia regularly with his counterpart, including most recently during his visit to Riyadh on 11 December 2016 and again on 15 December 2016.

Palestinians: Gender

Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to work with the Palestinian Authority on promoting gender equality in the Palestinian Territories.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the Hon. Member to my reply to the Hon. Member for Enfield North of 24 October 2016 (PQ 48760).

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Gavin Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps HM Ambassador to Iran has taken to support (a) Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and (b) Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's family.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: In December, the Ambassador met with Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's family in Tehran. He has also spoken by telephone to Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband in the UK to explain what the Embassy is doing to assist her. The Ambassador most recently met and raised Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's case with the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister on 4 January. He will continue to raise her case with the Iranian Government at every available opportunity.

Department for International Development

International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Act 2006

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans she has to bring forward legislative proposals to amend the International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Act 2006 to reflect the expiration of the Millennium Development Goals and the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Rory Stewart: The Sustainable Development Goals have been integrated into relevant Departments’ Single Departmental Plans. Departments will report against progress towards the goals through their Annual Reports and Accounts. There is no current plan to bring forward legislative amendments to the International Development Act (Reporting and Transparency) Act 2006.

Developing Countries: Sustainable Development

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent steps she has taken to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

James Wharton: UK was at the forefront of negotiating the Sustainable Development Goals and we will be at the forefront of delivering them. The Goals are at the centre of all DFID’s work. The Government will be publishing a report soon that sets out the UK’s approach to delivering the Goals both domestically and internationally.

International Assistance

David Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what plans her Department has to introduce greater financial accountability to the international aid system.

Rory Stewart: The 2016 Multilateral Development Review demands that agencies meet international aid transparency standards and pass the same expectation to their partners. We are challenging multilaterals to publish all spending over £500, and we are expanding payment by results approaches and performance agreements, to introduce greater financial accountability. These measures will deliver increased value for money for UK taxpayers and better outcomes for the world’s poorest people.

Department for International Development: Consultants

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how much her Department has spent on private consultancies in the last 12 months.

Priti Patel: Figures for financial year 2015/16 show that DFID spends approximately 13% of its budget through contractors. The House will know that I have recently instructed my officials to undertake a review of how we work with our suppliers. It is essential that all of DFID’s contractors and partners are fully open and transparent, uphold the highest standards and are held to account for those standards.

Department for Education

Grammar Schools

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2016 to Question 54658, if she will list the external research and evidence on grammar schools which her Department has reviewed.

Nick Gibb: The following research and evidence is referenced in the selection section of the consultation document, Schools that work for everyone:Schools, Pupils and their Characteristics: January 2016 and National pupil projections – future trends in pupil numbers: July 2016 statistical first release (SFR)Secondary and primary school applications and offers: March and April 2016 SFRDepartment for Education School Census 2015; and 2016Ofsted official statistics: Maintained schools and academies inspections and outcomes as at 31 March 2016Atkinson, A., Gregg, P. and McConnell, B. (2004) The results of 11 Plus selection: an investigation into equity and efficiency of outcomes for pupils in selective local education authorities (LEAs)Efficiency of outcomes for pupils in selective LEAs, cited in Coe et al (2008) Evidence on the effects of selective educational systems, CEM Centre, Durham University for the Sutton Trust Since the publication of our consultation documents, a number of organisations have published additional research and evidence relating to our proposals. We continue to review all available evidence, which we will consider alongside the responses to our consultation. The Government will respond to the consultation in the spring.

Pupils: Personal Records

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many applications to extract information from the National Pupil Database were made by the Home Office in each of the last five years; and how many such requests were approved.

Nick Gibb: The number of applications made by the Home Office to extract information from the National Pupil Database is as follows: YearApplications madeApplications withdrawnApplications approved20120n/an/a20130n/an/a20140n/an/a20157162016 (up to 15th Dec)21120  A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was agreed in 2015 which allows the Home Office to access limited data including home address and school details. The MoU is available in the House Library.

Schools: West Midlands

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2016 to Question 56150, what the total cost was to the public purse of opening new schools in (a) Birmingham and (b) the West Midlands.

Nick Gibb: New school places are delivered through a variety of programmes. Supporting local authorities to create sufficient school places is one of the Government’s top priorities. The Government has already committed £7 billion for school places which, together with our investment in 500 new free schools, we expect to deliver 600,000 new places by 2021.The cost of building schools varies significantly depending on local factors, including: the size of the school; the size of the project; forecasts of construction inflation; and regional variations in the cost of construction. All of these are subject to change over time.Local authorities report the cost per place of providing new school places through the annual School Capacity data collection. The Department is currently reviewing cost data as reported by local authorities for both primary and secondary schools for 2014/15 and expects to publish this information in due course.Previously published information on the cost per place of primary schools in academic year 2013/14 for all Local Authorities can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/primary-school-places-local-authority-basic-need-scorecards-2014

Primary Education: Rural Areas

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many schools defined as rural in her Department's lists of designated rural primary schools for 2016 and 2010 have (a) closed in each year since 2010 and (b) been proposed for closure.

Nick Gibb: 4,151 schools were listed as designated rural primaries in 2016. We do not have a record of the number of schools that were designated rural in 2010. The number of schools, listed as rural, that have closed each year from 2010 is set out as follows; Year (Calendar year)Number of Designated Rural Primary School Closures2010520111220124201372014102015620166 These figures do not include those schools that have closed to become an academy or have merged with another school. Based on the notifications the Department has received from local authorities, we are aware of a further 7 proposals to close a designated rural primary.

Grandparents: Parental Responsibility

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of recent trends in the number of grandparents providing free childcare for working parents; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Dinenage: The Department does not collect information on the number of grandparents providing free childcare for working parents, however information is available on the proportion of families using grandparents for childcare.The Department’s Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents contains information on the proportion of families using grandparents for childcare by family type and work status. This information is published for the past five surveys online at:2009 Survey - Table c2.2 (page 196):https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/181743/DFE-RR054.pdf2010 Survey - Table c2.4 (page 233):https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/211819/OSR_12_2012_Updated_Jun13.pdf2011 Survey - Table c2.6 (page 232):https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/211820/SFR08-2013Text97-03_Updated_Jun13.pdf2012-13 Survey - Table c2.6 (page 271):https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/275992/SFR06-2014_Childcare_and_Early_Years_Survey_of_Parents_2012-13_final.pdf2014-15 Survey - Table c2.6 (page 294):https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/516924/SFR09-2016_Childcare_and_Early_Years_Parents_Survey_2014-15_report.pdf.pdf

Teachers

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to encourage teachers to remain in the UK after they have completed their studies.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not collect specific data on the number of teachers who leave the UK to work abroad, whether they are UK nationals or overseas nationals who undertook their teacher training in the UK. However, at a national level we are retaining and recruiting the teachers we need, and we have more teachers in state-funded schools in England than ever before. Of the teachers who trained in the 2014/15 academic year and who have successfully completed their training, 95% were employed in a state-funded school in England within six months of qualifying. We recognise that given the strong graduate labour market there are challenges in recruiting and retaining teachers, particularly in certain subjects and for some specific schools. We are working hard to address the issues that cause teachers to consider leaving the profession, such as unnecessary workload and poor pupil behaviour, to ensure that teaching remains an attractive and rewarding career.

Special Educational Needs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure special needs places are available for all children who have a statement of need; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: We will invest at least £200 million in places for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities that have education, health and care plans. We will distribute this funding to local authorities in England to support them to provide new places and improve facilities in both mainstream and special schools. This is over and above the basic need funding that we allocate to local authorities to support them to provide new school places. Local authorities are also free to use basic need funding to invest in places for pupils with special needs and disabilities where they identify that to be where the need is greatest. We will allocate this funding to local authorities in England and we will say more about this in 2017. Education is a devolved matter, meaning that the Northern Ireland Assembly is responsible for pupil place policy in Northern Ireland.

Free Schools: Standards

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2016 to Question 57119, what progress she has made in ensuring that academies and free schools meet the School Food Standards since the publication of Childhood Obesity: a plan for action.

Mrs Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2016 to Question 57119, what stakeholders she has met since 18 August 2016 to discuss mechanisms to ensure that academies and free schools meet the School Food Standards.

Edward Timpson: We are working through the best course of action on this issue. The Secretary of State has had no meetings to date. As the minister responsible for school food, I attended the School Food Plan Alliance meeting on 6 December. Departmental officials are meeting with the School Food Plan Alliance, School Food Matters and other stakeholders in the new year to discuss options.

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to make provision for age-appropriate personal, social, health and economic education, including sex and relationships education, to be a statutory requirement for all schools; and if she will make a statement.

Edward Timpson: We want schools to provide all young people with a broad and balanced curriculum that equips them for success in adult life. High quality PSHE teaching has an important role to play in this, helping young people understand the world around them, building resilience and helping them to make positive choices and stay safe. We have made it clear in the introduction to the national curriculum that all schools should make provision for PSHE, drawing on examples of good practice. Academies and free schools are encouraged to teach PSHE as part of a broad and balanced curriculum. Sex education is already compulsory in secondary maintained schools, and the Government is clear that all schools should make provision for high quality, age-appropriate sex and relationship education (SRE) which is a vital part of preparing young people for life in modern Britain. The Secretary of State agrees that we need to look again at the case for further action on PSHE and SRE provision, as a matter of priority with particular consideration to improving quality and accessibility. We are actively considering what steps we could take and will give a view soon.

Schools: Admissions

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress the Minister of State for School Standards has made on assessing the potential costs of changing the Schools Admissions Code to provide more flexibility for summer-born children.

Nick Gibb: We are currently undertaking evidence gathering and analysis to estimate the potential costs of providing more flexibility for summer born children. However, it is complex and will depend on how we implement any changes, the level of parental take up and whether those children take up free early education.

Children in Care: Mental Health Services

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the mental health assessment pilots for looked-after children announced by her Department in November 2016 will cover both children in care and care leavers.

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Expert Working Group for looked-after children's mental health plans to publish recommendations on mental health assessments for both looked-after children and care leavers.

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions her Department has had with the Department of Health about improving mental health outcomes of care leavers.

Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effect of unmet mental health needs among care leavers on their (a) educational and (b) training and employment outcomes and levels of homelessness.

Edward Timpson: Care leavers’ experiences before care mean that as a group they have poorer outcomes than other young people. While the Department does not collect data on the relationship between mental health needs and outcomes, our cross-government care leaver strategy, published in July 2016, is based around five issues care leavers identified as barriers to success, including improved access to health support. We also know from our consultations with care leavers that they often find it difficult to access the right mental health support when they leave care which impacts on other areas of their lives. This includes their engagement in education, employment and training. The Department of Health is represented on a senior Whitehall officials group on care leavers. The Department is working closely with the Department for Health, NHS England and the Expert Working Group to develop the scope of the mental health assessment pilots announced by Lord Nash on 23 November. No decisions have yet been made on the precise scope of the pilots and whether they will cover children in care and care leavers. The terms of reference of the Expert Working Group to develop mental health care pathways for looked after children explicitly include care leavers. We will act on the findings from the Expert Working Group and the mental health assessment pilots.

Schools: Sponsorship

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how long Regional Schools Commissioners (RSCs) have taken, by year and by RSC, to find appropriate sponsors for schools from when they are notified that the school is in special measures to having a sponsor taking over that school.

Nick Gibb: We routinely publish all open academy details and academy projects in development.These details can be easily accessed online and you can find this information here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-academies-and-academy-projects-in-developmentThe ‘Sponsored Pipeline’ tab features a list of sponsored academy projects currently in progress, the local authority in which they are located and, where applicable, the agreed sponsor. We do not hold data on the time taken to match a sponsor with a school. Information on school Ofsted inspection outcomes can be found on the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/monthly-management-information-ofsteds-school-inspections-outcomes

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase funding for schools with a high concentration of students with special educational needs.

Edward Timpson: Mainstream schools are currently funded through the formula set by their local authority, in consultation with its schools. The local funding formula often uses factors such as low prior attainment and free school meals to give an estimate of the number of children with special educational needs (SEN) a school is likely to have.Local authorities are required to delegate funds, through these and other formula factors, to a level that enables schools to meet the additional cost of pupils with SEN, up to £6,000 per annum. When the costs of additional support required for a pupil with SEN exceed £6,000, local authorities should allocate top-up funding from its high needs budget to cover the excess costs. The local authority can also give additional funding from its high needs budget to schools that have a disproportionate number of pupils with SEN.The Department is currently consulting on national funding formulae for schools and high needs, which will make funding fairer by matching funding to children’s needs and the schools they attend. The consultations can be found at https://consult.education.gov.uk/funding-policy-unit/schools-national-funding-formula2/ and https://consult.education.gov.uk/funding-policy-unit/high-needs-funding-reform-2/In the meantime, in 2016-17 the Department provided local authorities with £92.5 million of additional funding for high needs, and will be providing a further £130 million in 2017-18.

Teachers: North of England

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to attract and retain talented newly-qualified teachers in disadvantaged schools in the North.

Nick Gibb: Improving teacher quality is vital to improving educational outcomes for pupils wherever they are in the country. High quality teachers are the single most important factor determining how well pupils achieve in schools. At a national level we are retaining and recruiting the teachers we need. We recognise that the strengthening economy and growth in pupil numbers have made the situation more challenging. This is more acute in certain subjects and particular schools or areas of the country. As part of the recently published Northern Powerhouse Strategy, we will design, fund and test a range of approaches to attracting and retaining high quality teachers in the North. We will look to engage the regions and the sector as we work up plans. We will provide more details on this in spring 2017.

Schools

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2016 to Question 56818, what evaluation her Department has made of the effectiveness of the teaching of (a) health and nutrition and (b) personal finance advice in schools.

Nick Gibb: State-funded schools are held to account for the standard of education they deliver through the data published in the school performance tables, and through inspection. As part of an inspection, Ofsted will consider whether the school is providing a broad and balanced curriculum that meets the needs of pupils and prepares them for adult life. The new national curriculum, which came into effect in 2014, sought to strengthen education in state-funded schools, including the teaching of health and nutrition and personal finance matters. In the new National Curriculum we strengthened the teaching of nutrition, the impact of diet on health and practical cooking skills through our reform to the curriculum. In September 2016 we introduced a new GCSE in food preparation and nutrition that requires pupils to acquire an understanding of the scientific principles behind food and nutrition. This new GCSE will be assessed for the first time in summer 2018. We have made significant changes to the National Curriculum – and the new mathematics and citizenship GCSE subject content – to integrate financial capability. The new GCSEs in these subjects will be assessed for the first time in summer 2017.  Personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education is a non-statutory subject that can encompass many areas of study. It equips pupils with the knowledge and skills to make safe and informed decisions, and to prepare for life in modern Britain. Schools should seek to use PSHE education to build, where appropriate, on the statutory content already outlined in the National Curriculum, the basic school curriculum and in statutory guidance. This includes support for teaching on financial education, and the importance of physical activity and diet for a healthy lifestyle.

Teachers: Resignations

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teachers have left the profession before retirement in each year since 2010; and how many of those teachers left to teach overseas.

Nick Gibb: The total number of full-time equivalent teachers that left the profession before retirement in each year since 2010 is published in Table 7b of the ‘School Workforce in England: November 2015’ statistical release: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2015 The table in the link shows the number of teachers that were in service in a state funded school in England in one year but had left service by the following year. Some of these teachers could have moved to teach outside the state funded sector (e.g. in an independent school) or moved to the education sectors in another UK country. However, the exact numbers are not known. Furthermore, a number of these teachers will return to the profession. Table 7b also shows that, for example, in 2015 over 14,000 ex teachers returned to work in a state funded school in England. The number of teachers that left the profession before retirement to teach overseas is not known.

Schools: EU Nationals

Mr Pat McFadden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many EU nationals work in each local authority area (a) as teachers and (b) in other positions in schools.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Schools: Richmond Park

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of the schools funding formula on the funding of schools in Richmond Park and North Kingston constituency in real terms in each of the next three years.

Nick Gibb: The illustrative impact of the proposed schools national funding formula (NFF) for schools in the Richmond park constituency, in year 1 of the operation of the formula, and overall, is provided in the table below. These figures are only illustrations, and not actual allocations. The formula is subject to consultation, and the illustrations use pupil and school data from 2016-17 to show what would have happened to each school’s funding, if the formula had been implemented in full in 2016-17. A school’s actual funding allocations for future years will reflect the latest data about a school and its pupils. Baseline fundingIllustrative NFF funding if formula implemented in full in 2016-17, without transitional protectionsIllustrative NFF funding in the first year of transitionSchool NamePhaseHas data for this school been excluded, because it is a new school that is still filling up?Funding the school received in 2016-17 or 2016/17Illustrative total NFF fundingPercentage change compared to baselineIllustrative NFF year 1 fundingPercentage change compared to baselineCoombe Hill Infant SchoolPrimaryNo£1,295,000£1,408,0008.8%£1,329,0002.7%Latchmere SchoolPrimaryNo£2,995,000£2,973,000-0.7%£2,973,000-0.7%Robin Hood Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£995,000£969,000-2.6%£982,000-1.3%Coombe Hill Junior SchoolPrimaryNo£1,497,000£1,485,000-0.9%£1,485,000-0.9%Alexandra SchoolPrimaryNo£1,260,000£1,291,0002.4%£1,291,0002.4%Fern Hill Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£2,374,000£2,486,0004.7%£2,438,0002.7%Christ Church New Malden CofE Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£1,680,000£1,645,000-2.0%£1,658,000-1.3%St Paul's CofE Primary School, Kingston HillPrimaryNo£1,372,000£1,335,000-2.7%£1,354,000-1.4%Corpus Christi Catholic Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£1,642,000£1,655,0000.8%£1,655,0000.8%St Agatha's Catholic Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£1,588,000£1,569,000-1.2%£1,569,000-1.2%The Kingston AcademySecondaryYes Kingston Community SchoolPrimaryYes Coombe Girls' SchoolSecondaryNo£5,083,000£5,371,0005.7%£5,232,0002.9%The Tiffin Girls' SchoolSecondaryNo£3,230,000£3,246,0000.5%£3,246,0000.5%St Luke's CofE Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£1,031,000£1,006,000-2.4%£1,017,000-1.3%Darell Primary and Nursery SchoolPrimaryNo£1,293,000£1,273,000-1.6%£1,276,000-1.3%Thomson House SchoolPrimaryYes East Sheen Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£1,859,000£1,893,0001.8%£1,893,0001.8%Lowther Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£1,503,000£1,553,0003.3%£1,543,0002.7%Meadlands Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£909,000£886,000-2.5%£897,000-1.3%Deer Park SchoolPrimaryYes The Russell Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£1,080,000£1,068,000-1.1%£1,068,000-1.1%Sheen Mount Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£1,779,000£1,877,0005.5%£1,827,0002.7%Barnes Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£1,728,000£1,724,000-0.2%£1,724,000-0.2%The Vineyard SchoolPrimaryNo£1,784,000£1,889,0005.9%£1,832,0002.7%Kew Riverside Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£930,000£925,000-0.5%£925,000-0.5%Marshgate Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£1,757,000£1,833,0004.3%£1,804,0002.7%St Richard's Church of England Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£1,030,000£1,004,000-2.6%£1,017,000-1.3%Holy Trinity Church of England Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£1,710,000£1,662,000-2.8%£1,686,000-1.4%St Mary Magdalen's Catholic Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£1,004,000£1,033,0002.9%£1,030,0002.6%St Elizabeth's Catholic Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£1,086,000£1,145,0005.5%£1,115,0002.7%St Osmund's Catholic Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£909,000£932,0002.6%£932,0002.6%The Queen's Church of England Primary SchoolPrimaryNo£1,391,000£1,433,0003.0%£1,429,0002.7%Grey Court SchoolSecondaryNo£5,653,000£5,593,000-1.1%£5,593,000-1.1%Christ's Church of England Comprehensive Secondary SchoolSecondaryNo£3,666,000£3,562,000-2.9%£3,614,000-1.4%Richmond Park AcademySecondaryNo£4,152,000£4,031,000-2.9%£4,091,000-1.5%

Pre-school Education

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Government expects to publish the early years workforce strategy.

Caroline Dinenage: A well-qualified workforce in the early years is absolutely crucial and that is why the Government has committed to developing a workforce strategy which will help employers attract, retain and develop staff to deliver high quality provision.The workforce strategy will be published early in 2017.

Free Schools: Finance

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2016 to Question 56161, if she will list the free schools for which £800,000 has been written off; and how much of that money has been written off for each of those schools.

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 December 2016 to Question 56161, how much her Department spent to date on recovering money from free schools.

Edward Timpson: The write-off of pupil number adjustment recoveries for free schools is rare and only authorised in exceptional circumstances, as it would be for any other type of school.The write-offs I referred to in my response to Question 56161 concerned two schools – Al Madinah School and Stockport Technical School.The Department agreed to write-off a recovery of £609k for Al Madinah School relating to academic year 2013/14, and £140k for Stockport Technical School relating to academic year 2014/15. Al Madinah School was ending its secondary provision and Stockport Technical School was closing completely.This is short of the £800k quoted in my previous response, which was rounded to hundreds of thousands. The write-off for Al Madinah School was incorrectly rounded up rather than down to the nearest hundred thousand. These are the only two write-offs in respect of free school pupil number adjustment recoveries, totalling £749k.Calculating and applying pupil number adjustments to bring estimate-based funding allocations back into line with actual numbers is a normal, intrinsic, planned part of the funding cycle. The Education Funding Agency does not account separately for the resource spent on this, as it is just a small element of the work to allocate and pay funding to academies and free schools.

Academies: Standards

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what academy trusts failed to comply with the terms of a financial notice to improve in each year since 2010.

Edward Timpson: Financial Notices to Improve (FNtIs) are issued in response to severe financial management and governance issues in academy trusts. It is the responsibility of academy trusts to address the issues, however, the EFA works closely with trusts to monitor compliance with the terms set out in FNtIs and has a clear and robust strategy for intervention that ensures appropriate and proportionate action is taken swiftly.Of the 53 FNtIs issued since 2012, 11 have been lifted because conditions have been met and the issues identified have been resolved.

Children: Day Care

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will provide a London weighting to children eligible for the 30 hours free childcare or education offer.

Caroline Dinenage: The Government published its response to the Early Years National Funding Formula consultation, alongside detailed tables of allocations to each local authority, on 1 December. Allocations are made using the Early Years National Funding Formula, which includes an Area Cost Adjustment to reflect the differing costs of childcare in different parts of the country.These documents can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/early-years-funding-changes-to-funding-for-3-and-4-year-olds

Universal Credit

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the eligibility to free school meals will be of children in households in receipt of Universal Credit, broken down by employment status.

Edward Timpson: As I indicated in my answer to the hon. Member for Manchester Central on 1 December, the Department for Education is working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions, other Government departments and other interested parties to establish new criteria for determining entitlement to benefits-related Free School Meals as the roll-out of universal credit (UC) progresses. No decision has been taken yet, and our proposals on this matter will be announced in due course. As an interim measure, all pupils whose parents are in receipt of UC are currently entitled to free school meals.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

National Wildlife Crime Unit

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the National Wildlife Crime Unit in tackling wildlife crime and protecting endangered species.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Crawley, Henry Smith, on 7 July 2016, PQ UIN905727.

Wildlife: Conservation

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to prevent further reductions in the world populations of elephants, rhinos and other species.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Government works with a range of governments and international organisations on the conservation of endangered species, including elephants and rhino, through a number of fora. This includes the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) which protects around 35,000 species from unsustainable international trade. I attended the CITES Conference of Parties held in Johannesburg from 24 September to 5 October 2016, where the UK, working with the Member States of the European Union and other countries, played a major role in achieving strong outcomes for a number of species, including elephants and rhinos, that will help ensure their survival in the wild. Poaching is a major threat to elephants, rhino and other species and the UK has played a leading role in efforts to combat the illegal wildlife trade. The UK was represented by the Secretary of State at the Illegal Wildlife Trade Vietnam conference, on 17-18 November 2016 in Hanoi, where new concrete actions to deliver on the commitments agreed at the previous London and Botswana conferences in 2014 and 2015 were secured. In addition, the Secretary of State announced an additional £13 million for measures tackling the illegal wildlife trade, doubling our investment.

Elephants: India

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the government of India on the conservation of Asian elephants and the potential merits of banning the use of elephants in tourist attractions.

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support the Indian government in protecting Asian elephants.

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Indian counterpart on preventing the practice of capturing and breaking young elephants in India for use in the tourism industry.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Prime Ministers David Cameron and Narendra Modi met in London in November 2015 and issued a joint statement in which they resolved to work together to improve protection for both captive and wild Asian elephants. There have been no discussions with the Indian Government specifically on banning the use of elephants in tourist attractions or preventing the capturing and breaking of young elephants for use in the tourism industry. However, further official level discussions have taken place with the Indian High Commission to discuss the joint statement and discuss specific areas on which we might work constructively beyond international fora such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Within CITES the UK has led on securing agreement to measures to increase focus on protecting Asian elephants. These include the strengthening of national legislation and enforcement to combat illegal trade in live Asian elephants, for range countries to develop strategies to manage their captive domestic populations and to develop and apply a regional registration and marking system covering domestic Asian elephants.

Lions

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to promote a ban on trade of captive lion parts.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The UK takes the conservation of lions seriously. There are strict controls in place for international trade in wild lion parts; however the Government currently has no plans to promote a ban on trade of captive lion parts.

Lions: Africa

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to promote the up-listing of African lions to Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: At the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) earlier this year, it was decided that lions should not be uplisted to Appendix I of the Convention. The Government supported this decision. Based on the biological and other listing criteria under CITES, our assessment is that the entire lion population of Africa does not currently meet the criteria for inclusion in Appendix I. This is notably the case for Southern African lion populations, which have an increasing population trend. The UK takes the conservation of lions seriously. At the CITES Conference of the Parties, the UK played an instrumental role in banning the trade in wild lion bones, which represents a key conservation concern. We also supported a broad range of decisions to support African lion conservation on a continent-wide basis.

Tigers: China

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to support the Chinese government in protecting tigers.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: I met the Chinese delegation to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Conference of Parties in London immediately before the conference which was held in Johannesburg from 24 September to 5 October 2016. We discussed the conservation of a number of species including tigers. At the Conference, the UK, working with the Member States of the European Union and other countries, achieved strong outcomes for tigers including agreement to proposed decisions to scrutinise captive breeding facilities, and a regional photographic repository of seized tiger skins to aid enforcement action.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Equality

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, who the diversity champion is on her departmental board.

George Eustice: Clare Moriarty (Permanent Secretary) is the diversity champion on Defra’s departmental board. The Government introduced diversity champions as part of the Talent Action Plan (TAP) commitment to have champions in all departments. The Government uses diversity champions to provide an overall insight for all protected characteristics, including LGBT, Race, Religion or Belief, Gender, Disability, Social Mobility, Age, Carers, Gender Reassignment etc.

Nature Conservation: Crime

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on what the additional £13 million to tackle the illegal wildlife trade announced in her Department's press release, UK leading global fight against illegal wildlife trade, published on 17 November 2016, will be spent.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The UK has a strong record as a global leader in the fight against the illegal wildlife trade (IWT), and remains committed to working to bring an end to this scourge. We intend to use the additional £13 million in UK funding announced on 17 November to tackle IWT through a number of new initiatives to reduce demand, strengthen enforcement and develop sustainable livelihoods for communities affected by IWT. This is likely to include expanded British Military training for African park rangers; additional funding for Interpol to expand its work with key nations, tracking and intercepting illegal shipments of ivory, rhino horn and other illegal wildlife products; and up to £4million for the International Consortium for Combatting Wildlife Crime.

Recycling

Dr Paul Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to remove barriers to a more resource-efficient economy; and if she will encourage the Environment Agency to reopen its online definition of waste tool to new submissions.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: As part of our planning for the UK’s exit from the EU, we are considering the options for reshaping our waste and resources policy and regulatory framework to encourage the more sustainable use of resources. We are currently developing a 25 year environment plan and will consult stakeholders early this year on the priorities for resources, waste and recycling. Views on the key barriers to resource efficiency and ideas for addressing these will be welcome. In parallel, we are working to ensure alignment with other plans in development such as the Government’s new industrial strategy and our emissions reduction plan. The Environment Agency’s online definition of waste tool is still available. It can be used for a self-assessment of whether a material is a waste or not. The Definition of Waste Panel is closed until further notice while the Environment Agency reviews its role and purpose.

Dairy Farming: Health Education

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effect of the Eatwell Guide, published in March 2016, on the milk and dairy industry.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the effect of the linear programming model used to develop the Eatwell Guide on the dairy and milk industry.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations she has received on the Eatwell Guide since March 2016.

George Eustice: We meet regularly at Ministerial and official level with representatives of the industry to discuss key issues and opportunities for the UK dairy sector. I am aware of concerns regarding recommendations on the consumption of dairy products in the Eatwell Guide produced by Public Health England (PHE) in March 2016. PHE has prepared a report detailing the approaches, methods and decisions made in developing the Eatwell Guide. The report “From Plate to Guide: What, why and how for the Eatwell model” is available on the PHE website.

Tigers: China

David Mackintosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Chinese counterpart on preventing the breeding of tigers for commercial purposes.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: I met the Chinese delegation to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) 17th Conference of Parties, including the Vice Minister of the State Forestry Administration, in London on 21 September 2016 immediately prior to the Conference. Although discussions did not specifically include the commercial breeding of tigers, we did discuss the conservation of a number of species including tigers. At the Conference the UK, working with Member States of the European Union and other countries, achieved strong outcomes for tigers including the agreement of proposals to scrutinise captive breeding facilities.

Waste Management

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Environment Agency about (a) its responsibility to enforce the waste hierarchy and (b) cases in which that hierarchy has not been observed.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The Secretary of State has not held discussions with the Environment Agency regarding the enforcement of the waste hierarchy. The Environment Agency always promotes observance of the waste hierarchy and takes a risk based, proportionate approach to enforcement. It rewards good performance and targets regulatory effort at higher-risk operators with the worst environmental performance.

Floods: Property Development

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what role her Department has on planning consultations for housing in areas at risk of flooding.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Consultations on planning for housing in areas at risk of flooding are primarily the responsibility of the local planning authorities. The Department has no role in these consultations. However, in relation to planning applications in Flood Zones 2 and 3, the Environment Agency is a statutory consultee and so must be consulted by the planning authority. There are also statutory requirements for local planning authorities to consult the Environment Agency on the preparation of local plans.

Flood Control: Lancashire

Mr Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to prevent flooding in Lancashire.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The government has invested £29.8 million for flood and coastal risk management schemes in 2015/16 and plans to invest a further £91.3 million by March 2021 to reduce the risks of flooding or coastal erosion across Lancashire. This includes investments to the recently completed Anchorsholme Coastal Defence Protection Scheme, where the government has invested £28.7 million to better protect 4,415 properties, and for the Rossall Coastal Defence Protection Scheme, due for completion in September 2017 where the government will invest around £47.5 million to better protect 7,497 properties. A further £9.7 million of government funding has been allocated to the Morecambe Wave Reflection Wall, expected for completion in 2019 and better protecting 8,127 properties. The government is also planning to invest £17.4 million on the Fairhaven and Church Scar Coast Protection Scheme, which is expected to start construction in spring 2017 and will better protect 1,357 properties.

EU Trade: Subsidies

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the 10 largest domestic subsidies used by UK industry by virtue of UK membership of EU trading arrangements under the World Trade Organisation definition of aggregate measurement of support are by (a) type of good, (b) sector, (c) quantity of goods affected and (d) estimated value to the UK economy.

George Eustice: The most recent notification for the EU domestic support in agriculture is for the marketing year 2012/13. The total aggregate measure of support notified was €5.9bn. This is overwhelmingly market price support which is only calculated for the EU as a whole and not for individual member states. The products with the largest notified support are: ProductAggregate Measure of SupportButter€2,743mCommon wheat€1,865mSkimmed milk powder€1,145mWine€696mMilk€192mEthyl alcohol€82mSugar€59mBee keeping€43mOlive oil€18mFibre flax and hemp€7m

EU Trade: Import Duties

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the 10 existing EU tariff rate quotas with the largest economic value for the UK economy are by (a) type of good, (b) sector of the economy, (c) quantity and (d) estimated value for UK industry.

George Eustice: The EU currently notifies over 120 tariff rate quotas in agriculture and a further 19 non-agriculture tariff rate quotas. There can be several tariff rate quotas within a single sector such as beef or sugar, for different products and different countries which export to the EU and UK. We do not currently assess tariff rate quotas by economic value: they are defined and administered according to the volume rather than the value of imports. All tariff rate quotas which other countries use to export to the UK, however, will be important to them, and important to the industry affected.

EU Trade: Import Duties

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of whether the UK should agree a division of EU tariff rate quotas before consideration by Parliament of UK-specific World Trade Organisation schedules of concessions; and if she will make a statement.

Chris Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of whether the UK should negotiate a UK-specific entitlement to the aggregate measurement of support that the EU is allowed under World Trade Organisation rules; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustice: In leaving the EU, we will need to update the terms of our WTO membership where, at present, our commitments are currently contained in the EU’s schedule. We recognise the need to work with the EU and with other WTO Members in order to ensure a smooth transition which minimises the disruption to our trading relationships with other WTO Members, including developing country Members and our closest trading partners. As the Secretary of State for International Trade said in his Written Ministerial Statement on 5th December “the Government will prepare the necessary draft schedules which replicate as far as possible our current obligations”. We do not intend to alter the scope of concessions currently enjoyed by WTO members. While this is largely a technical process, there are a number of areas where we will need to consult with other WTO members.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit: Publications

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what the options are for the form in which the document containing the Government's plan for the UK leaving the EU will be published before Article 50 is triggered.

Mr Robin Walker: We will set out our broad plans to Parliament and the public for scrutiny before triggering Article 50 by the end of next March, repeating the proviso as agreed by the House on 12 October 2016, without division, confirmed on the 7th December, that nothing we do or say should undermine the UK's negotiating position.

Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority

Members' Staff: Conditions of Employment

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, whether the Committee plans to create an official policy of caring leave for members' staff.

Mr Charles Walker: The Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (SCIPSA) is not responsible for creating HR policies for MPs’ staff. Its remit is to consider candidates proposed by the Speaker for the posts of Chair and members of the Authority, following fair and open competition, and to approve IPSA's annual estimate of resources.MPs are the legal employers of their staff. It is for them to use their discretion to provide their staff with caring leave. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority provides template contracts for MPs to use with their staff. These allow for up to five days at full pay for time off work to deal with unforeseen circumstances and emergencies involving a dependant.

Attorney General

Private Prosecutions

Sir Edward Garnier: To ask the Attorney General, how many private prosecutions were taken over by the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many such prosecutions (a) stopped before trial and (b) proceeded to a verdict.

Jeremy Wright: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not maintain a central record of the number of private prosecutions taken over by the CPS and (a) stopped before trial and (b) proceeded to a verdict. To identify the number would require a manual exercise to review individual files which would incur a disproportionate cost.The specification of the new Common Platform includes a requirement to enable the monitoring of categories such as this.

Wales Office

Wales and Borders Rail Franchise

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2016 to Question 46772, what progress has been made on procurement of the Wales and Borders Rail franchise.

Alun Cairns: The Department for Transport and the Wales Office are working closely with the Welsh Government to facilitate their ongoing procurement process for the Wales and Borders rail franchise and to finalise these arrangements – including the transfer of franchising functions – during 2017.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners: Radicalism

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been found in possession of (a) Inspire magazine, (b) Dabiq magazine and (c) any other piece of proscribed extremist literature in each prison in each year since 2010.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been convicted of smuggling (a) Inspire magazine, (b) Dabiq magazine and (c) any other piece of proscribed extremist literature into prison in each year since 2010.

Mr Sam Gyimah: a) The five instances of Inspire magazine reported to have been found in a prisoner’s possession are set out below. On each occasion the magazine formed part of the prisoner’s defence paperwork and was removed. 2011 – Belmarsh2012 – Manchester2013 – Manchester2013 – Woodhill2015 - Frankland b) There have been no reported cases of Dabiq magazine (subsequently Rumiyah) being found in prisoner possession. As to c) the Government proscribes terrorist organisations and possession of material associated with a proscribed group may constitute a criminal offence. However figures related to possession of literature associated to all proscribed terrorist organisations could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. The possession or smuggling of material associated with a proscribed group may be an offence under section 2 of the Terrorism Act 2006 or under section 22 of the Offender Management Act 2007. The published statistics for these offences are available at gov.uk, however conviction data is not broken down in a way which would identify the location of the offence as requested in this question. We will not tolerate extremist material in prisons and where found it is removed and, if appropriate, referred to the police.

Tribunals: Scotland

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions she has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on the progress of devolving administrative responsibilities for (a) employment tribunals and (b) other relevant tribunals to the Scottish Government.

Dr Phillip Lee: The Government is committed to transferring the functions of relevant reserved tribunals to Scotland under the process set out in the Scotland Act 2016 and my officials are working closely with officials from the Scottish Government to develop the detailed plans to do so. Both the Minister for Small Business, Consumer and Corporate Responsibility at BEIS and I have recently corresponded with Ministers in the Scottish Government, on this matter.

Cabinet Office

Civil Servants: Recruitment

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what date the annual civil service report into socio-economic data for fast-stream recruits will be published.

Ben Gummer: The 2015 Annual Report was published on 3 January and includes analysis of the socio-economic status of recruits to the Fast Stream between 2011, when monitoring of the socio-economic background of recruits to the Fast Stream began, and 2015. Analysis of the socio-economic status of recruits to the 2016-17 Fast Stream recruitment round will be published in the 2016 Annual Report later this year.

Members: Correspondence

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to reply to the letter of 17 October 2016 from the hon. Member for Bridgend on the Gulf Strategy Unit.

Ben Gummer: I responded to the hon. Member on 20 December 2016.

House of Commons Commission

Parliamentary Estate: Food Banks

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Rt. hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington, representing the House of Commons Commission, what discussions the Commission has had on providing hon. Members' staff based on the parliamentary estate and visitors with facilities to donate toiletries and non-perishable food to a food bank at the Palace of Westminster; whether plans are in place to provide such donation points; what facilities there are to donate surplus food from the parliamentary estate to foodbanks and other charities; and how much food was sent from the parliamentary estate to landfill in 2015.

Tom Brake: Holding answer received on 14 December 2016



The Commission has had no discussions on providing facilities on the parliamentary estate for hon. Members’ staff and visitors to donate toiletries, and non-perishable food to a food bank.We are unable to provide the proportions for the treatment of unused and uneaten food waste across the parliamentary estate as we do not separately record the amount of such waste entering the general waste stream.All catering food waste segregated at the kitchens and food preparation areas is recovered or recycled; and no general office or catering waste from Parliament is sent to landfill.The majority of food waste generated by the House of Commons is not fit for human consumption. A very minimal amount of edible food will end up as waste due to the controls in place to prevent this. Even if a minimal amount of edible food could be recovered, it is also a legal requirement that this food meets strict hygiene standards even upon donation, which cannot be guaranteed once it leaves the premises.Working closely with the Maintenance and Environment teams, Catering Services have removed approximately 152 tonnes of organic waste from the general waste stream from August 2015 to July 2016. This is an increase of 30% from the first full year of the scheme.There are no plans for HoC Catering Services to look at alternative ways of recycling food, i.e. as donations.Westminster Chapel, telephone number 020 7834 1731, hosts the nearest food bank: The Westminster Foodbank, Westminster Chapel, Buckingham Gate, London, SW1E 6BS. Its opening hours and information about its work can be found at http://www.westminsterchapel.org.uk/ministries/foodbank/. The website has a comprehensive list of food items acceptable for donation.Local charity shops may accept toiletries which are sealed, or clearly new and unused, but it would be advisable to check with them first.